


Knights of the Fox Table

by Lover_of_Fairy_Tails



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Assault, Attempted Sexual Assault, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, M/M, Minor Character Death, Murder, Near Death, Past Sexual Assault, Sexual Content, Slow Burn, knights AU, period-typical violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2019-05-04 02:28:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 73,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14582928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lover_of_Fairy_Tails/pseuds/Lover_of_Fairy_Tails
Summary: The Moriyama and Wesninski Kingdoms are the largest in a land dotted with many kingdoms. Another much smaller one is the Foxhole Court Kingdom.The Foxhole Court's Lord Wymack is in need of a rare herb that can only be bought in the neighboring Wesninski Kingdom, so he sends two of his knights Andrew Minyard and Kevin Day to retrieve it. Of course with Andrew's luck in life he ends up captured by Wesninski Knights and imprisoned in their dungeon.Nathaniel is the son and only heir of Lord Wesninski. When he hears that a Fox Knight has been captured and is currently being held in their dungeon, he can't help but to go and get a glimpse of the knight.Much to Andrew's annoyance the Young Wesninski Lord keeps coming to visit him.Much to Nathaniel's delight Andrew has begrudgingly agreed to answer his questions about the Foxhole Court and Kevin in exchange that he answers Andrew's questions.Now that they have started this game of truths were will it lead them?





	1. Chapter 1

Consciousness slowly crept back into Andrew and with it the dawning sense of something being terribly wrong. His body ached, and his thoughts were a hazy jumbled mess. Panic gripped him as he realized he couldn’t remember what had caused him to be in this state. He opened his eyes, needing to know where he was, only for pain to instantly pierce through his head.

He forced himself to keep his eyes open, his need to know where he was far outweighed the pain. When his eyes adjusted he looked around and found himself lying curled on a stone floor. The stones were cold, hard and unyielding against his skin accounting for at least part of the reason his body ached. He was surrounded by stone walls and barricaded in by metal bars. The room was unfamiliar, though he could recognize it for what it was. A dungeon cell.

He had to get up. Even though he was locked in a cell, and most likely could do nothing to leave it he had to try. The stiffness in his body from laying on the stone floor proved trying to move difficult though. The arm and leg that had been trapped beneath him were numb, and the multitude of sore spots he felt made him certain he was covered in bruises. Still, he worked his arms and legs slowly out. After a much longer time than Andrew wanted it to take, he finally got into a position to push himself up. Yet the moment his head lifted off the ground pain flared through it, and he collapsed back down.

In that moment there was nothing but the pain and the wish that it would stop. He laid perfectly still till it receded to a dull throb, then allowed his thoughts to broaden to the rest of his body. His arms and legs had instinctively curled back in, and he had to force his aching limbs back into position once more. This time, as he pushed himself up, he moved at a much slower pace. Pausing multiple times to allow waves of nausea to pass.

Once he succeeded in sitting fully upright he leaned slowly back against the wall behind him. A stray thought made him wonder if his unconscious body had sought out the security of a solid wall at his back, or if he had just been tossed indiscriminately against it. Either way made no difference to the fact that he was too weak to hold himself up. Having to use the wall for support left him vulnerable, and Andrew had learned at a young age exactly what kind of consequences being vulnerable brought.

Having moved as much as he was able to at the moment he looked around the cell hoping it would give him some clues about his whereabouts. The room was all stone divided in half by iron bars with an iron door in the middle. In his half of the room, there was nothing except the cold hard stone, but in the other half, there was a wooden door and a few low burning lanterns. The door looked thick and completely solid, he guessed it was made that way to keep any sounds coming from inside the cell from escaping. Which at this moment he could appreciate since it meant all his fumbling earlier hadn’t alerted his captors to his wakefulness yet.

There were no familiar crest or markings to help him, so he still had no idea where he was. Instead, he focused his hazy attention on his injuries. Maybe that would jog his memory into working again. There had been many times when Andrew had hated his perfect recall. There were too many nightmares he had lived through that he wished wouldn’t come back in painfully clear detail to haunt him, but right now he wished it was intact. He had to imagine that his very obvious head injury had something to do with his loss of recent memory.

It was a slow arduous process checking over his whole body, but when he finished he had cataloged a whole myriad of injuries. Most were very minor like the bruises all over his body, and the multitude of shallow already scabbing cuts along his arms and legs. However, there was one concerning laceration on his right calf. It was deep enough to have warranted his captors into bandaging it to keep him from bleeding out.

The bandage covering it had soaked through with fresh blood. His floundering earlier had reopened the wound. He unwound the bandage to check how deep the cut was, and was relieved to find it wasn’t too terribly deep. It would definitely hinder his ability to walk till it healed, but wouldn’t cause any permanent damage. Confusingly enough he also found that someone had placed an herbal salve on it. He didn’t understand why whoever had captured him had taken the time to try and keep it from getting infected. Unless it meant he wasn’t going to be locked in this dungeon permanently, or be facing a far worse fate.

Since he had no new bandages, Andrew wound the old one back around his leg taking care to place the clean parts along the cut. Judging from his injuries it was apparent he had been involved in some sort of fight. Also that when the fight took place he must have been wearing his surcoat and chainmail shirt, which had protected his chest. Though both were now gone, and he was left only in his linen undershirt and pants. Also missing from his person were his money pouch, boots, cloak, knives, and armbands which he always wore. Lacking all of his defenses made him even more vulnerable in his already weakened state.

With no new insights into his situation, Andrew decided to try a different route to regain his lost time. He focused on his last full memories and worked his way forward. He recalled a lot of mundane things about his life at the Foxhole Court like training with Kevin, ignoring Nicky’s awful jokes, talking with Renee while on watch duty, also having watch duty with Aaron but not talking.

Then a conversation with Wymack trickled in. The full conversation was a little hard for him to grasp, but it felt more recent than the other memories. Andrew remembered Wymack summoning him and Kevin to his office to tell them he was sending them out the next morning to buy some rare herbs from an herbalist friend of Abby’s. Their journey would take about three days on horse, and once they reached the village they were to spend the night then start back the next day. Yet he couldn’t recall the specifics about their destination, or the journey at all.

Since he was fairly certain that this was his last full memory he closed his eyes and concentrated hard against the pulsing in his head. After pushing past the throbbing pain and some more nausea solid thoughts and feelings started to form. Kevin and he had left the next morning, just as Wymack had instructed, and as they had traveled for the first three days nothing eventful happened. Though Andrew remembered feeling wary of their destination. Not on his own behalf, but because of Kevin. It wasn’t unusual for him and Kevin to journey out on missions for the Foxhole Court, but for some reason he was unhappy about this one.

After reaching the village and buying the herbs for Abby they had stayed the night in the spare room of the herbalist’s cottage and left the next day. Everything had gone perfectly fine, but Andrew’s feeling of wariness still persisted. It wasn’t until they were on the road back that Andrew’s wariness had turned into full-fledged dread. The sudden clomping of horse hooves alerted him that they were no longer alone on the road, and by the sound of it multiple riders were coming quickly towards them.

Andrew had told Kevin to follow him off the road to hide in the dense forest, but it was too late. A group of knights came around a bend and spotted them. Andrew felt a phantom chill run up his spine as he remembered seeing five knights clad in black surcoats. Wesninski Knights had found them.

The arrival of Wesninski Knights explained and justified why Andrew had felt wary about going to that village with Kevin in tow. It was located in the Wesninski Kingdom the second largest in the land, and although they were neutral towards the Foxhole Court on paper they were allied with the Moriyama Kingdom. Which meant on the very off chance one of their knights happened to come across and recognize Kevin Day they would be under orders to capture him, so he could be returned to the Moriyama’s.

Which, of course, with Andrew and Kevin’s horrible luck in life is exactly what happened. The Wesninski Knights hailed them to stop, and before Andrew and Kevin could turn and flee they were surrounded. When two of the knights recognized Kevin their expressions had turned from shocked to determined in mere seconds. They ordered Kevin to come with them, which he ardently refused.

When the Wesninskis started slinging around threats Kevin did something so gloriously stupid that Andrew had to admit it stunned him. Kevin dismounted his horse, drew his sword, and challenged the knights to a duel. In an honorable one on one duel, even now with his injury, Kevin was practically undefeatable. The problem was there was no way these Wesninski Knights were going to fight Kevin in single combat. Even if they did there was five of them and only one of Kevin. Andrew wasn’t sure if Kevin’s grand plan was to try and defeat them all, or if he was too panicked about being captured and returned to Riko to have thought at all.

The five Wesninski knights responded to Kevin’s issuance by dismounting their horses and drawing their weapons. Andrew hastily dismounted his own horse and took up his position at Kevin’s side. In seconds three of the Wesninski Knights were upon them. The fight that ensued initially went well for them. Kevin had easily dispatched the first knight that had reached him, and together they were overwhelming the other two. What was causing Andrew more concern was that two of the knights hadn’t joined the fight and were just watching from a distance.

Within minutes Kevin and he struck their finishing blows, while only incurring a few minor cuts and bruises themselves. With three of the knights now dead, they turned their attention to the two remaining.

Andrew had found their behavior odd. If they had joined the fight the five on two odds would have been most likely insurmountable for Kevin and himself. At first Andrew thought maybe they had been too scared to fight Kevin. Since they had been the ones to initially recognize him, and at one point in his life Kevin Day had been one of if not the best sword fighters in the land. However, his theory was quickly dismissed as the two remaining Wesninski Knights again demanded Kevin surrender to them or else. Andrew couldn’t comprehend how they could still act with that much bravado after just witnessing three of their fellow knights slain rather easily.

That was until he noticed the four sets of crossed swords stitched onto their surcoats.

Two years ago, when Kevin had first come to the Foxhole Court Wymack had asked him for all the information he had on the Moriyama's and their allies the Wesninskis. So if they were to ever confront them the Fox Knights would be prepared to fight back.

Because of all the information Kevin had regurgitated at them then Andrew knew exactly what the sets of crossed swords meant. It was how the Wesninski’s differentiated their ranks, and four was the highest rank you could earn. Andrew cast a quick glance to the three fallen knights and noticed they were all only marked with one set of swords, which meant that were still undergoing training. 

He’d heard revulsive tales from Kevin and others about how the Wesninski Kingdom operated. One of the stories he had heard was if any of their knights could not hold their own against an adversary then they were undeserving of being Wesninski Knights at all. So he knew they were a vile lot, but hearing about how cruel the Wesninskis were, even towards their own, was much different from seeing it firsthand.

Kevin spoke up again, bringing Andrew's attention back to him, he refused to go willingly again finally causing the two knights to spring into action. One of the knights lunged at Kevin, and the other at Andrew. As they fought the Wesninski Knights moved in a way which forced Andrew and Kevin to put distance between themselves. Their tactic of separating them so they couldn’t guard each other’s back was just one of the ways Andrew could tell that these knights were leagues above the previous ones in terms of ability.

As the fight went on he felt that he was doing a fairly decent job at holding out against his opponent. The problem was that was all he was doing. He was completely on the defensive. Andrew imagined that if Kevin’s opponent was just as good as his that he would be in the same predicament. Since fleeing to the Foxhole Court Kevin had been training to build his abilities with his non-dominant right hand, but he still wasn’t as good as he had once been. Also, they were both winded from their previous fight while their opponents were completely fresh. 

Andrew knew the longer the fight lasted the more likely it was for his opponent to gain the upper hand, he needed to end it soon. There were no holes in his opponent’s defense though, which meant he was going to have to create one. After going through whole scenarios of options in his head he decided his best bet was to charge at the knight in a move that Kevin, Wymack, and all the other Fox Knights would call suicidal.

He implemented his plan the first chance he got when the knight brought his sword down at him in a high arc. Andrew waited until the very last moment before deflecting the strike away from his body with as much force as he could. The force caused the knight to be put off balance just enough that it gave Andrew an opening to ram his shoulder hard into him. He caught the knight off guard, causing him to stumble sideways. While the knight tried to catch himself Andrew brought his heavy boot down on his kneecap, making him fall to the ground. Some luck must have befallen Andrew at that moment because the knight’s head hit a rather large rock rendering him unconscious.

Andrew had moved to finish him off when a guttural curse caught his attention. His head snapped around to look behind him. Kevin stood a few feet away blood dripping down his right arm. His sword lay on the ground behind him, and the Wesninski Knight was cautiously closing in.

A fierce need to protect Kevin rose up in him and he rushed over to place himself between him and the Wesninski Knight. Upon seeing Andrew jump into their fight the other knight looked past him to where his companion lay unconscious on the ground and glowered. For the first time since he had heard the horses approaching them Andrew felt good about their chances of getting away.

Then he heard a snarling curse behind him. Not wanting to turn his back on the enemy knight Andrew slowly backed up until he was standing beside Kevin. What he saw snuffed out his hope for a two on one fight. Kevin was attempting to pick up his sword, but that was proving to be impossible. His hand was slick from all the blood and he couldn’t get a good grip. Once he did manage to get a hold of it the moment he tried to lift it up the weight caused his arm to spasm, and he dropped it again.

The cut on Kevin’s upper arm was obviously worse than Andrew previously thought. It must have cut into muscle, causing his arm to be useless until it had time to heal. Kevin seemed to reach the same conclusion as Andrew because this time he tried to pick up his sword with his left hand. Andrew knew that Kevin had not practiced with his dominant hand in the past two years, and was unsure if Kevin could even competently wield a sword with it anymore.

Kevin’s fingertip closed around the hilt of his sword and he raised it up like he intended to fight. The sight would have made for a good portrait, Kevin Day standing proud with sword clutched in his left hand again. Upon closer inspection though you could see all the cracks. Kevin was barely gripping the sword, he couldn’t even wrap his fingers all the way around the hilt, and his proud look was mostly there to mask his grimace. It seemed as if just the act of trying to hold the sword was bringing him an exorbitant amount of pain.

Andrew wasn’t sure if Kevin was faking it in hopes of scaring the knight away with the thought of facing them both. If that was his plan it wasn’t working. The Wesninski Knight just stood with his sword at the ready waiting for Andrew and Kevin to make the next move. The longer they stood there the more noticeable it was that Kevin’s arm was shaking from the exertion of holding up his sword.

It was amazing, in a wretched way, how quickly his newly established hope had been snuffed out again. Kevin was useless right then. Actually, if Kevin intended to try and fight he would be more of a hindrance than anything. Since Andrew’s focus would be torn between fighting and trying to make sure Kevin wasn’t doing anything to injure himself further.

Andrew was at a loss for how to handle the situation. He needed to figure out how he could fight the knight and protect Kevin from his own egotistical stupidity. Andrew knew him well enough to know with a hundred percent certainty that Kevin was planning on throwing himself into this fight. With his injured right arm and impaired left hand there was no way he would hold out though. Andrew could only imagine that this was going to end with himself doing something equally stupid, like throwing himself in front of Kevin before he could be maimed.

Unless Kevin wasn’t there.

If Kevin wasn’t there and didn’t try to fight the knight Andrew wouldn’t have to worry about protecting him. A plan started to form. What Andrew needed was for Kevin to leave. Not just for a short while to wait out the conclusion of the fight either, because if Andrew lost he knew the knights would scour the area till they found him. No, he needed Kevin to get on his horse and ride as far as he could back towards the safety of The Foxhole Court. 

With his plan in mind Andrew relayed it to Kevin, not caring that the Wesninski Knight overheard. Either it worked and Kevin got away, or it failed and Kevin was captured anyways. Kevin, of course, vehemently opposed it. It also caused the other knight to laugh, probably at what he thought about Andrew’s chances against him. Andrew wasn’t certain of his own chances against the knight either, but all he really needed to do was hold out long enough for Kevin to get away. First though, he needed to convince him to leave.

Andrew remembered the argument between himself and Kevin after that, Kevin had outright refused to leave him behind. Until Andrew pointed out that at this point Kevin’s left hand was shaking so badly that his sword was on the verge of being dislodged from it completely. Kevin had then stared hard at his hand for a long moment before giving an almost imperceptible nod.

As soon as Andrew knew Kevin had acquiesced to him, he rushed the other knight. He succeeded in catching him off guard and knocking him off his feet. While the Wesninski Knight was on the ground Kevin took the opportunity to run past him, mount his horse, and grab the reins of Andrew’s horse. With control over both their horses he rode to where the Wesninski Knight’s horses had congregated. Kevin made a show of being loud as he forced his horse and Andrew’s to run straight at them. Spooked, the horses took off down the road towards the village. It was good that Kevin understood that if Andrew lost this fight there could be no horses left around for the Wesninski Knight to use to catch up with him.

Kevin glanced towards Andrew and gave him one last solemn nod before riding away.

Enraged that Kevin had gotten away the knight started yelling at Andrew about all the things he was going to do to him. The knight tried to get up but Andrew threw one of his knives at him, which he just barely managed to dodge. The knight plucked the knife from the ground and he hefted it back towards Andrew. As Andrew easily dodged the knife he saw quick movement out the corner of his eye and realized too late that it had been a diversion.

A white-hot searing pain lanced up his leg. The knight had thrown the knife then twisted around to slice out with his sword cutting a gash into Andrew’s calf. The pain caused him to stumble, and he just barely caught himself in time to fend off another strike from the knight. While Andrew tried to get his footing the knight got back on his feet. When they faced off against each other again Andrew realized that with the copious amount his leg was bleeding his chances of surviving this encounter had decreased significantly.

Andrew tried to drag the fight out for as long as he could. Knowing that every second was giving Kevin more of a chance to get safely away, but he was losing too much blood. After a few more minutes of fighting Andrew’s boot heel caught on a protruding rock, he tried to steady himself, but the ground was slick with his own blood.

He fell.

He caught himself jarringly on hands and knees, and raised his head up towards the Wesninski Knight in time to see him bring his sword down on him.

Everything went black.

At the time he thought he was going to die. He didn’t know why the knight had decided to bring the sword down pommel first to knock him unconscious instead. He had to assume the Wesninskis wanted to question him about Kevin and the Foxhole Court. Maybe torture him for inside information in hopes of attacking it. Possibly they even thought Wymack would trade Andrew for Kevin.

What he did know was that he was alive. So he still had a chance of getting back to the Foxhole Court, and he would fight tooth and nail to do so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on my outline it looks like this fic is going to be around 17 chapters plus an epilogue. Of course, that number could grow as I actually write them out. (Update as of November this has changed to 21 chapters)  
> If you have any questions or comments HMU in the comments section.  
> For example, why would I start writing a historical au involving the foxes as knights? I don't know. I ask myself this question every time I have to start googling questions like how far can a horse travel in a day? How long does it take semi-deep wounds to heal? What kind of cloth was worn?
> 
> \- Denotes a POV Change  
> * Denotes that a longer amount of time has passed, but no POV change
> 
>    
> Also, I need someone to like ghostwrite summaries for me. I am terrible at them. (For reals guys I am terrible at summaries.)  
> {Updated 4/29/2019}


	2. Chapter 2

Nathaniel was sneaking his way down the servant’s staircase in hopes of making it outside and into the gardens without being noticed. Growing up in his father’s castle he had learned the hard way time and time again that it was best for him to remain out of sight out of mind. His father and his father’s inner circle of knights were really the only people Nathaniel needed to avoid, but he had found that the easiest way for him to do so successfully was to avoid all inhabitants of the castle.

Over the years Nathaniel had perfected the art of moving around unnoticed. The only times he was expected to be in the presence of others were when he had his lessons with tutors or his official sword training practice. All other times he spent hiding out in his bedchambers, or practicing his swordsmanship alone and unseen in the maze-like gardens. Those were the only times Nathaniel felt like he had any semblance of control over his own life. Since studying swordsmanship was the only thing he had ever been allowed to choose for himself.

Nathaniel had chosen the sword over both of his parent’s preferred weapons. His father, Lord Nathan Wesninski, loved his clever and assortment of sharp knives. He believed the battlefield was no place for a Lord, his loyal knights were the ones expected to fight and die for him in battle. However, that did not mean he was above getting his hands dirty. Lord Wesninski liked to personally oversee any interrogations or punishments for betrayal, and smaller blades suited his needs perfectly. He could take a man apart for hours with his knives and learn every secret he had ever held while doing so. Nathaniel had witnessed it many times.

His mother, Lady Mary Hatford, had preferred the bow. Unlike her husband, Mary did not view herself as above partaking in battles. She had been born and raised in the Hatford Kingdom, which was much smaller than the expansive Wesninski Kingdom. Due to its small size the Hatfords were always warring with their neighbors over land. Over time Nathaniel had come to see the bow as the perfect representation of his mother, because just like a bow and arrow Mary was distant and detached.

Neither the torture associated with his father’s blades nor the coldness of his mother’s bow suited him. If Nathaniel fought he preferred to do so one on one with his heart pounding in his chest, and the chance that either side could take victory depending on who was quicker to strike. He was first captivated by the sword when he saw Kayleigh Day and Tetsuji Moriyama perform a demonstration of their abilities at a banquet him and his parents had attended at Moriyama Castle. Nathaniel had been mesmerized from the start. It had been like watching a dance, a very deadly dance where if the two had actually been trying to kill each other they would have both been cut to ribbons by the end. Nathaniel knew right then he had to learn how to wield a sword like that.

Practice was the reason he was sneaking out to the gardens now. He was about halfway down the staircase when the sound of voices carrying up made him freeze mid-step. He stood, poised to turn and sprint back up the stairs if needed, and listened to determine if the voices were coming towards him. After a few seconds relief swept through him as he realized that the voices were only carrying in through an open door to the great hall on the landing below. He unfroze and silently continued his journey down.

As he passed by the servant’s entrance to the great hall he stopped, peeked inside, and recognized the men talking as two of his father’s knights. They were older knights, who didn’t get sent out as much anymore, and a gossipy bunch. Stealthily eavesdropping was how Nathaniel garnered most of his information about his father’s whereabouts and the happenings around the kingdom. Knowing that these two would be good sources of information he pressed himself against the wall and listened in on their conversation.

“I heard Jackson and Romero showed up early this morning with some captive in tow.” 

“Aren’t they supposed to be showin some newbies around the outskirt villages, who could they’ve found out there that’s worth bringing in right away?”

“I’m not sure but he apparently caused them quite a bit of trouble, killed all the rank one knights, and even got the upper hand on Jackson.”

“All by ‘emself?”

“No, get this. I heard he was traveling with...” The knight paused for a dramatic effect, which had Nathaniel rolling his eyes. Though nothing could have prepared him for the onslaught of memories that hit him when he heard the next words out the knight's mouth. “Kevin Day.”

Kevin Day had been one of the most skilled knights in the Moriyama Kingdom up until two years ago when Riko Moriyama, the second born son of Lord Kengo, had broken his dominant sword hand in a fit of jealous rage. Nathaniel knew this because he had met and gotten to know Kevin and Riko during the many meetings, banquets, and even sword training sessions between their two kingdoms. Being able to meet and train with Kevin had been great since he got to share in his expertise of swords and practice with the great Kayleigh Day’s son. Having to meet Riko had been the exact opposite though since Riko was a sadistic bastard with a superiority complex.

Not wanting to miss any news about Kevin Nathaniel crept closer, while still remaining out of sight.

“Lord Wesninski and the Moriyama’s are gonna be pissed when they hear that Kevin Day wasn’t captured. If this guy was traveling with ‘em, dontcha think it must be another Fox Knight?”

“He must be. I heard that Lola has locked him in the dungeon to be dealt with when Lord Wesninski returns. She sent a messenger to him as soon as Jackson and Romero arrived this morning.”

As the conversation continued more and more questions popped up in Nathaniel’s head. He didn’t know why Kevin had been stupid enough to set foot in this kingdom and didn’t care to dwell on it now. What he wanted to know was if there really was a Fox Knight here, and if so, which one?

Nathaniel’s tutors had taught him much about the other kingdoms. Such as their defenses, what they produced and traded, who they were allied with, and how many knights they had in their service. So he knew that the Foxhole Court Kingdom was small in size. Only consisting of the castle, the small town of Palmetto which surrounded it, and just enough farm and pasture land to sustain it. Only six knights were in the service of Lord Wymack due in part to his kingdom’s size, and the fact that a large river and dense forest made it easily defensible.

From what Nathaniel had heard about the tendencies of the Fox Knights if the knight was male and traveling with Kevin he could narrow it down to one option. Since Kevin had only ever been spotted traveling outside of Palmetto with one person.

Nathaniel was suddenly taken with the uncontrollable urge to see the Fox Knight and get the answer to his questions for himself. His father’s knights didn’t seem to have any more useful information to add, so he quietly moved away from the door and back up the stairway.

After successfully crossing the castle unseen he reached the dungeons and was relieved to find only one guard posted and no other knights in sight. He wondered for a moment if the guard would find his presence odd and alert the knights to his whereabouts, but the need to see the Fox Knight outweighed his worry. Using his best impersonation of an authoritative voice he demanded to be let inside the cell. The guard startled at his presence but obliged without any hesitation.

Nathaniel sent up a prayer to any deities that might be listening that the guard wouldn’t mention to anyone that he was down here and entered the cell. His heartbeat quickened as the heavy cell door slammed shut and he was left alone with the Fox Knight. After his eyes adjusted to the dim light he peered into the inner part of the cell and was disappointed to find the knight lying unconscious on the floor. 

He recovered quickly though. Even though he had many questions he wanted to ask the knight, he was happy to get the chance to study him first without being scrutinized in return.

The knight was lying curled in a tight ball on his side making him appear smaller than he was. If it wasn’t for his rather broad chest and muscular arms he could almost be mistaken for a child. Between his small stature and pale hair Nathaniel knew he had been correct in his guess earlier, it was Fox Knight Andrew Minyard.

Nathaniel had not gotten the key to the inner part of the cell. So he pressed his face against the iron bars and examined what he could of the knight from a distance. He had been stripped of everything except his underclothes. One of his pants legs had been torn off below the knee, and his now exposed leg was covered with a bandage. Even from this distance Nathaniel could tell the bandage was tied too tightly and would cause more damage if left that way. He didn’t know if Jackson and Romero were too stupid to know they had tied it too tight, or more likely they just didn’t care if Andrew lost the leg.

Nathaniel, on the other hand, did not want any unnecessary damage to come to the Fox Knight who had taken up with protecting Kevin. He quickly came to a decision and left the cell. He informed the guard on his way out of the dungeon that he would return shortly and crept his way back upstairs to his bedchambers. He collected some extra bandages and a healing salve he had hidden there, placed them in his cloak pocket, and made his way silently back down. Upon entering the dungeon this time he also demanded the guard allow him access into the inner part of the cell as well. Once again the guard did as he was told without question. 

After the guard unlocked the inner iron-gate and closed the main cell door behind himself, Nathaniel crossed the room and knelt beside the Fox Knight. Up close he could see that Andrew’s arms and legs were covered in small cuts and bruises and that there was a much nastier bruise on his head. Which was probably the injury that led to his prolonged state of unconsciousness.

Very carefully Nathaniel removed the old dirty bandage from the knight’s leg, inspected the cut to the best of his knowledge, and determined it looked to be healing fine. He spread the salve over the cut and re-bandaged the leg with the clean bandage. Once he had done all he could for the knight he decided it would be best for him to leave. He didn’t want to risk getting caught sticking around down here for too long. He would return later in the day after he had gotten more information, and hopefully when Andrew was conscious again. 

He wasn’t looking forward to what he had to do next, but there was only one person in this castle he could get the information he needed from. So he broke one of his personal rules and went in search of Lola.

-

Andrew had woken up what felt like hours ago, but since there were no windows in his cell he had no way to keep track of time. He kept expecting someone to come in and start questioning him, but thus far nothing. The constant waiting was slowly starting to drive him insane. Maybe that was their plan. Maybe they hoped that keeping him locked alone in the dungeon would mentally break him. Or maybe they just planned to leave him down here till he starved to death. Both seemed like plausible things for the Wesninskis to do.

After another long stretch of waiting passed the cell door finally opened. Andrew had been expecting a knight or maybe even Lord Wesninski, certainly not the young man who stepped through. He looked to be around Andrew’s age had short curls of dark auburn hair and pale icy blue eyes. A dark royal blue floor-length cloak draped over his narrow frame. Its clasp was inlaid with blue gems, and Andrew couldn’t help but notice how they matched his eyes perfectly.

Andrew had never seen someone from the Wesninski family before, but he had heard Kevin describe them. So he knew, without a doubt, that this young man had to be the young lord. Even if his physical appearance and expensive clothing hadn’t given him away the five crossed swords stitched onto his tunic did since that rank could only be worn by Wesninski family members.

“Hello,” the man said after pressing the cell door firmly closed behind him. His voice matched the ice in his eyes, and the word came out less like a greeting and more like a nail in Andrew’s coffin.

Andrew didn’t return the greeting. He didn’t want the Wesninski Heir to be under any false assumptions that he was going to make this easy on him.

Though he didn’t seem to be perturbed by the lack of response in the slightest. “You’re Andrew Minyard. Knight of the Foxhole Court Kingdom, correct?”

Andrew forced himself to not let a reaction slip through his mask, but having his kingdom, title, and name known to this Wesninski was more than a little unsettling. It was well-known now that Kevin had fled to the Foxhole Court, and since they had been traveling together it would be easy to assume that Andrew must also be a member. What he found concerning was the certainty in his voice when he said Andrew’s name.

The only way it was possible for them to know who he was with that much assurance was if the Wesninskis already knew that Kevin only traveled outside the Foxholes borders with Andrew. Either they had not been as careful as they had thought, or they had a rat living among them.

Andrew didn’t have time to dwell on thoughts of possible traitors at the moment though. Of all the rumors he had heard about the Wesninskis, none of them had ever involved the young lord. Andrew had to assume he’d lived a rather pampered sheltered life here in the castle preparing to be the next lord in a long line of tyrants. The one thing he knew for certain was that he had trained with Kevin and Riko and Riko’s“elite force” The Ravens. Kevin didn’t talk much about his upbringing with the Moriyama's and hadn’t mentioned anything about him beyond that. So Andrew was going to have to make his own judgments about the Wesninski. Though they were starting pretty low due to his damning family lineage. His icy gaze didn’t help Andrew’s opinion of him in the slightest.

Andrew had yet to respond and was undecided on how or if he should. His initial plan had been to remain silent, but now his interest had been piqued. Which caused him a dilemma. On one hand he didn’t want to answer any of the Wesninski’s questions. On the other hand he knew that if he didn’t there would be no chances of him learning anything in return, and he needed to know what else they knew about Kevin and the Foxhole Court.

The only way it would be possible for him to gain that knowledge was to keep the Wesninski Heir talking, which meant Andrew would have to act cooperatively to a certain extent. He settled on a response that would allow him to not fully confirm anything. “And you’re Nathaniel Wesninski.”

The man faltered at hearing his own name spoken aloud. “I am,” he hissed.

That reaction was odd. If anyone should be upset about having their name known by the other it should be Andrew. He remained silent waiting for Nathaniel to speak again. The next words out of his mouth would determine how the rest of this exchange was going to go.

“Is it true that Kevin is wielding his sword right handed now?”

Andrew blinked. That wasn’t what he had been expecting. He had been expecting an interrogation, or possibly jumping straight to the threats of torture. Certainly not questions about Kevin.

After a moment of being dumbfounded by that question, he decided he wasn’t going to waste his breath answering it. If Nathaniel had already heard reports of his knight’s encounter with them then he knew the answer. Yet Andrew was now left with the same dilemma as before.

An idea formed on how to handle his problem. He suspected it would be a long shot, but proposed it anyway. “I will only answer your questions if you answer mine in return. A truth for a truth, and it is now my turn.”

Nathaniel’s eyes narrowed at him, and Andrew felt like he was staring into the icy depths of a frozen lake. Their staredown lasted until Nathaniel flicked his gaze pointedly around the cell. He was probably trying to convey that Andrew had nothing to gain in this situation. Which Andrew did not need pointed out to him, he understood his circumstances perfectly well.

Nathaniel focused his attention back on Andrew. “Fine.”

“Fine?”

“That is what I said,” Nathaniel huffed. “Are you going to ask your question or not?”

So he was a patronizing little brat also. Andrew wasn’t sure if he wanted to sneer at him for his attitude or be stunned at his acceptance. He hadn’t really thought Nathaniel would agree. Maybe he was just humoring him because he thought Andrew had no chance of ever returning to the Foxhole Court, or maybe he was lying. Either way, Andrew wasn’t going to miss his chance of getting the answer to the question he had needed to know since waking up. “Did they capture Kevin?”

Nathaniel straitened and a pleased expression flitted over his face briefly before he wiped it away. “No.”

Good, Andrew's plan had worked, and being knocked out and captured hadn’t been for nothing. He waited for Nathaniel to ask his next question but was surprised again when he instead continued with his explanation. “Kevin wasn’t captured and hasn’t been found. You fought my father’s knights yesterday morning, and after riding all night Romero and Jackson arrived with you here this morning.” He paused to think for a moment before continuing, “Lola sent out more people to pursue Kevin, but I’m sure it will be in vain. He should be more than halfway back to the Foxhole Court by now, they will never catch up to him. Now answer the question I asked earlier.”

Andrew didn’t like the way Nathaniel seemed to be fixated on Kevin. There was already one young lord obsessed with Kevin, Andrew didn’t need two. He would have to worry about that little problem later though right now he had promised a truth for a truth, and had no intention of going back on his word. He answered with a simple, “Yes.”

Nathaniel nodded his head once in acknowledgment, but before Andrew could ask his next question said, “This will have to be the last question for today, I should not remain here much longer.”

Another oddity. The pieces of Nathaniel weren’t adding up. His words and actions so far didn’t match the person Andrew would expect the young Wesninski lord to be. Though this puzzle was going to be another thing for him to solve later. He guessed it was a good thing he had nothing but time on his hands for the foreseeable future. 

Nathaniel had given him the answers to three of Andrew’s most pressing questions earlier, so now all he had left to ask was. “What’s going to happen to me?”

Nathaniel grimaced at the question, which didn’t give Andrew good feelings about the answer. “Lola has already dispatched someone to the Moriyama Kingdom. Since you have been harboring Kevin she felt they had the right to ask you some questions.” He paused and Andrew noticed the way his lips pulled down as he thought. “It usually takes a messenger about five days to reach their kingdom and slightly longer for an envoy to get back here, so you have about a fortnight before they arrive. You will be kept in here till then. After that I am unsure.”

A look that could almost be sorrow passed over Nathaniel’s face for a second, but before Andrew could be certain he had turned and walked to the cell door. As he unlatched the bolt he looked back over his shoulder and added, “When I come again tomorrow I’ll bring you some more clean bandages.”

With that Nathaniel was gone and Andrew was left alone again. He sat for a long time thinking over his new puzzle that was Nathaniel. He decided that his willingness to exchanges truths and his seeming concern were probably a ploy to get Andrew to open up to him. Which if that was the case it wasn’t going to work. Andrew did not trust easily, and he definitely wasn’t going to be taken in by Nathaniel Wesninski.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this chapter took longer than expected because my little sister graduated from college, then we went camping and the state park had no wifi :(
> 
> I am already at least 1/3 done with the next chapter though, so maybe it will be posted within the week.  
> Hope you enjoy this chapter <3
> 
> (Updated 5/2/19)


	3. Chapter 3

Nathaniel had been lucky the day before when he had talked with Lola. She’d been too busy dealing with grain distribution issues or some other kingdom business to care much about his presence or his questions. He had vivid memories of times when he’d been less fortunate in his meetings with Lola, those had usually ended with him having a new scar or two.

Her split attention had also made it easier to convince her that he should be the one to interrogate the Fox Knight. He’d made the case that since he knew Kevin he would be able to suss out if the Fox was lying or not. She agreed and even seemed pleased that he was taking an initiative in being helpful with his father’s Kingdom for once. Of course, he had no intention of asking Andrew any questions which Lola or his father would deem helpful. He just needed the excuse to visit the dungeon.

Nathaniel had just finished lessons with his tutor so was free to do as he pleased for the rest of the day. Usually, this was when he gathered up his sword and headed to the gardens, but today he was thrumming in anticipation of learning more about Kevin and the Foxhole Court. So he gathered up his salve and bandages instead and headed for the dungeon.

At his approach the guard bowed his head and unlatched the cell door. Once inside Nathaniel firmly pressed the door closed, just as he’d done the previous day, in order to make sure the guard wouldn’t overhear them. He looked across the cell and found Andrew sitting in the exact same position he’d been in the day before. For a split second Nathaniel could imagine Andrew sitting unmoving all night. It was easy to imagine that he was the type of person who could remain unmoved by most things in life.

He walked to the bars and pulled the salve and fresh bandage from his cloak. Andrew’s only reaction was to raise his hand slightly as if commanding Nathaniel to bring them to him. “I don’t have the key, so I’ll have to slide them across to you,” he told Andrew. Then bent down, placed the salve jar on the floor with the bandages on top, and then gently slid them forwards.

Andrew made no move to stop the jar as it slid towards him. He waited until it had smacked into the wall beside him before reaching out to grab it. Nathaniel watched on in silence as he unwound the old bandage, inspected his wound, applied more salve, and then re-wrapped with the new one. Once finished Andrew slid the salve jar back to Nathaniel and tossed over the old bandages as well.

After Nathaniel had secured the items back into his cloak pocket he looked back to Andrew and said, “I want to continue our questions from yesterday.”

Andrew sat back against the wall and regarded him for a long moment. “If you think that I am going to sell my kingdom out to you just because you are making a play at being a decent human being then you are sorely mistaken.”

Nathaniel’s mouth thinned. He could understand why Andrew would be wary of him. Anyone in their right mind who found themselves imprisoned in Wesninski Castle should fear for their lives. If any of his father’s other knights had been sent down here Andrew would have been in a much, much worse predicament. As it was, Andrew had gotten lucky. Nathaniel, due to who his parents were, would probably never be counted as a good person, but that didn’t mean he was anything like his father or even his mother. He was only down here to fulfill his own curiosity, and that meant Andrew was going to have a two-week reprieve from the torture he would have been subjected to otherwise. Though after his father and the Moriyama's arrived Andrew’s luck would run out, and there would be nothing more Nathaniel could do for him.

“It wasn’t a ploy, and I promise to not ask for any information that will bring harm to the Foxhole Court.”

Andrew’s eyes flashed dangerously, and he sounded as if he didn’t believe for one second that Nathaniel would keep his promise as he said, “We shall see.”

Nathaniel took that as permission to continue and asked, “I want to know why Kevin thinks he is safe at the Foxhole Court?”

“That sounds like a threat coming from a Wesninski.”

“It’s not. I just meant how can Kevin believe that such a small kingdom will protect him when the Moriyama’s decide that they want him back?” This question had been on his mind ever since he had learned where Kevin had fled to two years ago. Kevin was too important to the Moriyama's for them to give him up so easily. He was Kayleigh Day’s son and a member of Riko’s elite knight unit. There was no doubt in Nathaniel’s mind that one day the Moriyama’s would attack the Foxhole in order to bring him back, and he knew there was no way they could hold out against a kingdom that powerful.

Andrew sat silent for so long that Nathaniel had started to believe he wasn’t going to get an answer. “Because they don’t want him back.”

The words hit him like physical blow knocking the breath from his lungs. They couldn’t be true. Riko was to determined to get Kevin back for those words to be true. Nathaniel knew because he had Riko’s fury over Kevin being gone carved into his skin. “That’s not possible. I know Riko wants Kevin back. He would do anything to bring Kevin back.”

Andrew narrowed his eyes. “Riko might want Kevin back, but the Moriyama’s do not.”

“Riko is a Moriyama.”

“Yes, but as the second son he has no say.” Andrew stopped and gave him a searching look before asking, “Have you ever meet Lord Kengo or Ichirou?”

“Of course I have. Though I have only been introduced to them and dined in their presence. I spend most of my time in their kingdom with Riko and his uncle Tetsuji.”

Andrew gave a brief nod as if that explained everything. “At first Kevin was worried about the Moriyama's coming for him and was willing to run instead of having them come down on our small kingdom. Then after a year and then two passed he realized that Kengo and Ichirou had no intentions of bringing him back.” Andrew paused and made a dismissive motion with his hand before adding, “After all what is one broken knight to the mighty Moriyama Kingdom.”

Nathaniel reeled. The thought of having endured all of that pain for nothing was too much to bear.

No, Andrew couldn’t be right. Of course The Moriyama's wanted Kevin back. His dominant hand might be unusable, but he was still one of the best knights in the land. Andrew just didn’t know about the extenuating circumstances that were keeping the Moriyama’s focus elsewhere at the moment. “Riko said that the reasons they have not gone after Kevin and your kingdom yet is because of the revolts to the north and Lord Kengo’s health issues.”

Andrew flicked his hand dismissively again. “Riko is just making up excuses for why his father and brother are not dragging Kevin back to him. In reality, Kengo and Ichirou don’t care about Riko’s whining.” Andrew dropped his hand back to his lap, and in a much more serious tone said, “Now tell me about Lord Kengo’s health.”

Nathaniel wasn’t sure he could believe Andrew’s theories, but could tell from the tone of finality in his voice that Andrew was done talking about it. So he let it drop for now and instead thought about the question Andrew had asked. Nathaniel held no love for the Moriyama's and did not feel bad at all about giving away their secrets to an enemy knight. “Lord Kengo has been in failing health for over a year now. No one expects for him to hold out much longer.”

“I’m sure Riko won’t handle his father’s death very well.”

Nathaniel knew firsthand he would not. About three months ago on his last trip to the Moriyama Kingdom his father had left him with Riko while he went on to visit a bedridden Lord Kengo. The Lord had been in such bad health that many feared it was the end. Riko had begged to be able to visit his father’s bedside, but Ichirou had refused his pleas. Outraged at his brother’s denial Riko had carved his frustrations into Nathaniel’s chest. At some point he had passed out from pain and blood loss and hadn’t woken up again until he was already in one of his father’s carriage on the way back to their kingdom.

The scar Riko had left on his chest that day ran from his left shoulder to his right hip bone. Nathaniel hadn’t realized he had absentmindedly been running his hand down it until he noticed Andrew’s eyes tracking the movement. He immediately dropped his hand to his side and clutched it into his cloak to keep it from moving against his will again. “No, he will not.” 

Not wanting to think about Riko and his knives anymore he told Andrew to take his turn.

“Who is Lola?” Andrew asked, which caused Nathaniel to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing bitterly at the irony. Of course he would ask about another person who gained a sadistic joy from causing him pain.

“She is my father’s advisor. When he is off on business she deals with the kingdom’s day to day needs in his stead.” Lola was in charge of much more than that, but Nathaniel didn’t think Andrew would want to hear all of the bloody details.

“Your father is out of the castle now then?” 

“Yes, he is out dealing with one of the vassal villages that is refusing to send their tribute.” Nathaniel knew he didn’t completely suppress the shiver that traveled down his body as he imagined exactly how his father was dealing with the village’s leader.

He noticed Andrew’s face minutely shifted into a look of disgust and knew he must have heard about how his father dealt with people causing him problems also. “Ask your next question.”

Nathaniel had so very many questions about the Foxhole Court that he wanted to ask, but he’d promised not to ask anything that could be seen as potentially harmful to their safety. He could tell from Andrew’s demeanor and evasiveness that he would probably view most of his questions as invasive and harmful. Which meant he would have to ask innocuous questions for the time being.

After a moment of deliberation he finally settled on. “How well is Kevin doing with his right hand?”

Andrew regarded him for a few heartbeats before saying, “You ask a lot of questions about Kevin.”

Nathaniel tried for his best nonchalant shrug. “I have known him for a long time, I’m curious.”

Actually, he was envious. Kevin had run and according to Andrew didn’t have to worry about being dragged back to the person who had caused him so much pain ever again. Kevin was safe. Nathaniel could only ever dream of the same happening for him.

Andrew didn’t look convinced. “I never saw him at his best, so I can’t really compare.”

Nathaniel hoped that was not the only answer he was going to get, and knew his facial expression betrayed his feeling.

Andrew must have noticed too because he released a put-upon sigh and added, “He is the best swordsman we have, and from what I’ve seen from traveling around one of the best in the land still.” Then he paused, and gave Nathaniel a calculating look before adding, “Although he does say that you are a fairly skilled swordsman yourself.”

Nathaniel’s eyes widened. He was too shocked to even try and hide it from Andrew. “He would not say that. Kevin never once had anything but criticisms for me when we were training.” 

“Kevin only has criticisms for everybody, don’t think you’re special.”

Nathaniel definitely did not think he was special. Kevin had always acted as if all the knights that studied under him were imbeciles. Unlike Riko who was very public about exactly who he thought was worthy of his mark, Kevin had never given any kind of indication of who he thought was good or not. If Nathaniel had to choose who he thought Kevin regarded as a skilled swordsman his own name would not have made the list. Maybe Jean’s would have.

He was pulled from his thoughts when Andrew said, “I’m going to save my question for the next time you come here to bother me. I’m tired of talking about Kevin.”

Nathaniel had to agree. Although he thought he would never tire of learning about the Foxhole Court, he was tired of having to think about Riko, Lola, and their knives.

-

“Oh joy, you’re here again,” Andrew said sounding as if Nathaniel’s mere presence was a pain. It was the fourth day he had come down for their truth exchange, and yesterday had been the first he had branched out from asking only about Kevin. Which Andrew had been grateful for. He heard enough about the awesome Kevin Day everywhere he went he didn’t need it here too.

At first Nathaniel’s fascination with Kevin had worried him, but yesterday when he had started asking about the Foxhole even the most mundane aspects of life there had caused him an equal amount of fascination. Plus there had never once been any longing, wanting, or possessiveness in his voice when he talked about Kevin, only admiration. It seemed like the Wesninski Heir was just another fanboy.

“Do not complain I brought you food,” Nathaniel snipped back as he approached the iron bars.

Andrew was certainly not going to complain about that. The day before Nathaniel had arrived right after the guard had sent in Andrew’s food allotment for the day. It had included what seemed to be scraps of leftover meat, bread that was hard as a rock, and vegetables that were about a day away from going bad. All in all it had been better than the previous day’s food which had looked rather fuzzy all over. However when Nathaniel had seen the food he’d been appalled. He told Andrew that he would go down to the kitchen that night, and sneak him some food for the next day.

Yesterday when he had promised to bring him better food Andrew hadn’t been sure whether he should believe him or not. So far Nathaniel hadn’t gone back on his word or caused him any harm. Yet Andrew knew he couldn’t and shouldn’t trust him. Nathaniel was a Wesninski after all.

Andrew watched as Nathaniel pulled a large sack out of his cloak and placed it on the ground in front of the bars separating them. “I wasn’t sure what you liked so I got some of everything.”

Which turned out to be an understatement. The sack, which was rather large to begin with, was bursting with food. It was too full to fit through the bars. “Show me.”

Nathaniel looked haughtily down at Andrew, and for a moment he wondered if he had finally pushed the Wesninski too far with his command. Then the moment passed as Nathaniel huffed out a breath and proceeded to sit down cross-legged on the floor. His continued willingness to comply was just adding to Andrews interest. The pieces of Nathaniel Wesninski were not adding up in his mind. There had to be something a little off happening here, Andrew just wasn't sure what it was yet. He was determined to figure it out though.

Andrew sat uninterested as Nathaniel pulled out a random assortment of fruits and vegetables from the top of the sack. All the vegetables he brought were raw, of course the privileged young noble didn’t know they needed to be cooked first. Finally Nathaniel dug out some actually edible foods like bread, cheeses, and cured meats. Andrew held up his hand and said, “I want those.”

Nathaniel looked between the food in his hands and Andrew behind the bars. “Do you want me to throw it at you, or are you going to come get it?”

Andrew just barely withheld himself from rolling his eyes at him. It seemed the more time they spent talking the sassier Nathaniel’s mouth got.

He wasn’t sure if Nathaniel would actually follow through with his threat, but he didn’t want to take the chance that he might. So he pushed himself off the ground, making sure to not place too much weight on his injured leg, and crossed the short distance. He was proud that he only hobbled a little. As he took the food Andrew made sure to avoid any physical contact with the Wesninski, then turned and retreated back to the far wall. Nathaniel stayed seated close to the bars and pulled out an apple for himself.

Once Andrew was settled back down with his food he started their question exchange for the day. “Why do you have to sneak into the kitchen at night?” It had been on his mind since Nathaniel had told him this yesterday. It made no sense for the son of the lord to be sneaking around his own castle.

“I don’t have to, I choose to,” Nathaniel answered then quickly took a bite of his apple. Taking the time to consider his words before continuing, “For certain reasons I find it better if I avoid the other inhabitants of the castle.”

Cryptic was the word Andrew would use to describe that remark, and it only made him even more curious about the kind of life Nathaniel lived here. Though it did help explain why he was so curious about cooking and cleaning duties.

“What do you do with prisoners in your kingdom?” Nathaniel asked, taking his turn.

Andrew had to think about his question. “I can’t remember a time since I’ve been there that we have had a prisoner. The only times the cells have been used was to lock up a drunk and rowdy townsperson for the night.” He stopped and looked around his bare cell. “Ours do at least have cots.”

“I'm sure,” Nathaniel agreed glancing around the cell also. “I do not think my great great great grandfather had comfort in mind when he had the dungeon built.” Then his face lit up, and he started digging around in his cloak pocket again. “Which reminds me I also brought you these.” He held up a set of underclothes for Andrew to see. “They’re made for winter, so they should help keep you warmer at night.”

Andrew fought an internal struggle to keep himself from feeling even the slightest sense of appreciation at the gesture. He knew that if he started to feel any type of gratitude towards Nathaniel it could be a slippery slope into trust, and that was something he wasn’t willing to risk.

“I’m not changing in front of you.”

Nathaniel grimaced and glanced from Andrew to the cell door. “I would leave them here for you to change into once I leave, but I don’t want anyone else to come down here and notice you have two sets now.”

Andrew really wasn’t keen on the idea of changing in front of him, but his need for warmer clothes outweighed that discomfort. Also, he didn’t want Nathaniel to get caught and have to stop bringing him stuff either. “Then face the wall till I tell you to turn back around.”

Nathaniel stood without question and turned to face the back wall. Andrew changed out of his dirty clothes and into the new warmer set. They were nicer quality than the ones Andrew owned, which meant they were probably the young lord’s own winter set.

“You can turn around now.”

Nathaniel turned back to him and slumped back down to the floor before pulling out another apple. “Are you sure you don’t want an apple? They’re very good, my mother planted the trees in the garden herself.”

It was the first time Nathaniel had mentioned his mother. The only thing he knew about Lady Hatford-Wesninski was that she had died about nine years ago of unknown causes. He decided to not go down that particular rabbit hole just yet though. He wasn’t sure he was prepared to exchange a truth equal to the knowledge of what really happened to Nathaniel’s mother. “If I wanted to eat something sweet I would prefer cake.”

“I doubt we have cake, the only time my father has it served is when visiting nobles dine with us.”

Andrew could imagine that did not happen very often and almost felt bad that Nathaniel had to live in a house with no cake. They continued to eat and ask each other questions for a while longer until Nathaniel gathered up everything and left. Leaving Andrew alone again until he returned.

-

“I have news,” Nathaniel announced as soon as he entered Andrew’s cell for the seventh day of his captivity.

“Oh, do tell,” Andrew said in mock excitement.

Nathaniel rolled his eyes at Andrew’s sarcasm. “Two of your fellow knights were here to find out if you had survived the fight with Romero or not.” He had not been present when the knights first arrived but had found a good place to hide and eavesdrop on their meeting with Lola.

“What were they told?” Andrew asked. His voice had gone from mocking back to his normal disinterest.

“Lola told them that you were alive, but being held for attacking and killing Moriyama knights unprovoked.”

“Hmm.” Andrew tapped his chin and pretended to think for a moment. “I don’t remember it that way.”

“No, of course it’s only an excuse for why she is going to be handing you over for questioning.” Nathaniel had tried for the past week to not think about that, but every day it was getting harder and harder to ignore. He could imagine exactly how Riko would go about extracting information and he wouldn’t wish that fate upon anyone, especially not Andrew.

“What did my fellow knights say to this?”

“They claimed it to be untrue, and that they had proof since Kevin had been there also. Lola told them that if Kevin came and stated his side she would listen.”

Andrew’s face finally betrayed a reaction, fury. “Bullshit,” he snarled out. “They just want Kevin to come here so they can capture and deliver him to Riko.”

“Of course,” Nathaniel agreed placatingly. “Kevin should never come back into this kingdom, it was rather stupid of you two to do it the first time.”

Andrew resettled himself. With his bland expression back in place, he said, “It wasn’t our decision. Wymack thought a small border village would be safe enough.”

“I am sure your Lord has learned better now, even if it was just an unlucky coincidence that Jackson and Romero were there also.”

“Yes, I’m sure Wymack is beside himself with grief over my loss.” His tone made it clear that Andrew did not believe this. However, Nathaniel couldn’t imagine why. From what he’d heard the Foxes were a close-knit group. Before he could say anything, Andrew asked. “Which knights came?”

“Wilds and Boyd.” Nathaniel had recognized the names when he heard them. Dan Wilds was the captain of the Fox Knights and Wymack’s right hand. Matt Boyd had been born in the Moriyama Kingdom to a wealthy doctor and a traveling fighter for entertainment. Since his mother wasn’t home a lot Matt had been raised by his father but had run away to the Foxhole Kingdom about four years ago.

“What is our marvelous captain and her trophy boy doing now?” Andrew asked in a snide tone.

Nathaniel didn’t understand why Andrew was acting so scornful to his fellow knights. He also didn’t understand what trophy boy meant but answered Andrew’s question anyway. “They left claiming they would speak to Lord Wymack about the situation and return. There wasn’t anything else they could do.”

“Unless they do something stupid like bring Kevin here there isn’t anything else they can do at all. In another week I will be handed over to the Moriyama's end of story.” Andrew sounded bored again like he couldn’t be bothered to care about his own fate.

Nathaniel, on the other hand, couldn’t stand the idea. “Maybe the Moriyamas will realize they cannot hold you captive under false reasons and release you.”

“You and I both know that will not happen. I will be tortured by Riko until he grows bored and kills me.”

Nathaniel tried to interject again, “He might not…”

“Stop.” Andrew’s bored tone broke for the second time that day. He was not yelling, but Nathaniel could tell from the way his fist were clenched that he was barely restraining his anger. “I’m done listening to your useless consoling. You, Young Lord Wesninski,” he hissed, “are no better than them, and have no right trying to make this seem like it won’t end badly. Now get out.”

Nathaniel turned to leave. He had no counter for Andrew’s harsh words. He hadn’t been the one to lock Andrew away or make the decision to hand him over to the Moriyama's, but he was just as guilty in keeping him here. In the end, he could do nothing to change his fate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG this chapter took forever.  
> After we spent a week camping my family decided to visit my grandparents for a week, so I didn't have much time to write.  
> Also I did a lot of editing to this chapter. I needed to get a lot of information in it, but without it being to wordy or repetitive.  
> The next chapter will be more action.
> 
> Also this line "Kevin only has criticisms for everybody, don't think you're special." reminds me of something Aaron would say, but since he isn't in the fic yet. Andrew had to say it.
> 
> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Now that I am finally home, hopefully I will have more time to write.  
> Edited (5/3/19)  
> <3


	4. Chapter 4

Andrew heard the familiar click of his cell door latch being lifted and hated that he felt an immediate sense of relief at the sound. No, he had to tell himself. It wasn’t Nathaniel’s now familiar presence which brought him comfort, but the food and bandages he always carried with him. Without those, plus the warmer clothes, Andrew’s situation here would be much worse. It definitely had nothing to do with Nathaniel himself, all he was to Andrew was a brief moment of reprieve from his endless boredom.

As the cell door was pushed open he had a quip ready on his tongue about how late Nathaniel was today. Though the moment the figure came into view the words died in his throat. Panic rose in his chest as he watched one of his living nightmares step into his cell.

-

Nathaniel was exhausted. It was well past midday and he had been at the sword practice field since sunrise. Usually, he practiced with his private tutor for an hour possible two each day then was done. Today though Lola had insisted that he stay and help demonstrate for the newly arrived knight recruits, and he could not disobey her.

He detested having to view the trainees as knights. They were boys some far younger than himself, who should be at home or training as squires. They shouldn’t be here preparing to be sent out as full-fledged knights who were expected to lay down their lives in order to protect the kingdom.

These boys were part of the yearly tribute every village in the kingdom had to send as part of the taxes they owed his father for protection. Of course, his father or grandfather had been the ones that conquered all those villages and smaller kingdoms, thus forcing them to accept their so-called protection. So Nathaniel could understand why so many tried to revolt against his father’s iron rule on a regular basis.

Apparently, Lord Wesninski’s most recent quelling of the small revolt had been successful. Lola had received a letter informing her that he was on his way back and should arrive in a few days. The same day the envoy from the Moriyama Kingdom should arrive. Nathaniel tried his best to not think about what that would mean for Andrew. Having his father and a delegation from the Moriyama’s converge on him all at once was not going to be good, and thinking about it too much made him feel nauseated.

Nathaniel shook away the thought, sheathed his sword, and began slipping past the remaining knights. His initial plan had been to go down for his daily visit to Andrew, but after training ended a servant had come to inform him that a washtub was being delivered to his room. It was well past the time he usually visited Andrew, Nathaniel was sure the Fox Knight would have some kind of jest about how late he was, but right now all wanted was to enjoy a bath while the water was still warm.

Andrew would have to wait a little longer.

As he approached the castle he cursed under his breath when he saw a boisterous group of his father’s knights blocking the door. Nathaniel tried to quickly and quietly pass through them but faltered when he overheard their conversation.

“Yeah, that knight from the Moriyama’s is down there right now.”

“They just sent one knight?”

“For now. Apparently, Sir Riko handpicked this guy especially to deal with that Fox Knight hedge-born.”

“I heard the Moriyama guards that came with ‘em say that this knight knew the prisoner when he was younger, and bragged about how Sir Riko had full faith in ‘em to fully break that damned Fox before the rest of the envoy arrived.”

The rest of their words faded into nothing as Nathaniel felt his heart drop in his chest. A hundred questions tore through his mind. The most prominent being how could anyone break Andrew, and why would Riko want that?

A knight forcefully pushed him out of the way of the door, startling Nathaniel out of his thoughts. He realized belatedly that he was still standing petrified, and that he needed to move before the knights started to question his odd behavior.

He forced his clenched hands to relax, and his shaking legs to move. He managed to walk through the doorway and away from the group of knights before his panicked thoughts took over again. It made no sense for Riko to send someone else to deal with Andrew. Andrew’s deal to protect Kevin put him directly into Riko’s path, and Nathaniel knew Riko would get a sadistic pleasure from dealing with him personally.

A shudder passed through him at the thought and memories of just how much Riko enjoyed causing others pain. He wrapped his arms around himself and dug his fingernails into soft skin until he could focus again. It wouldn’t help anyone now if he lost himself to the dark corners of his mind. What was important was figuring out what to do, or if he could do anything at all.

If there really was a Moriyama knight here and Lola had allowed it, then he couldn’t act against her without bringing severe punishment down upon himself.

Besides, maybe this whole thing wasn’t true. His father’s knights were a gossipy bunch and would pass along any and all information they heard no matter how ridiculous it sounded. Maybe the Moriyama’s had sent one knight ahead early, but he was probably here to only question Andrew not to be used as some kind of torture tactic.

Nathaniel's arms dropped limply to his side and he started walking. There really wasn’t anything he could do except stick to his initial plan and go up to his bedchambers. 

When he reached the end of the corridor he should have turned left towards the stairs, but his feet turned right instead. He decided it couldn’t hurt to make a quick check of the dungeon to see if anything out of the ordinary was happening. Hell, he would probably go down and find Andrew sitting alone in the exact same spot he was always in.

At the top of the dungeon stairs he stopped and listened for any noise carrying up to him. When he heard nothing he slowly crept his way down. Every instinct he had was screaming at him to remain out of sight out of mind as he made his way down and through the winding dungeon corridors.

When he reached the last turn before the hall that housed Andrew’s cell he stopped and pressed himself up against the wall. He forced himself to calm his breathing, but there was nothing he could do to stop the way his heart felt like it was trying to escape his chest. With one more deep breath he turned and peeked low around the corner. The sight before him caused a sigh of momentary relief to escape his mouth.

The hall was empty except for the one guard posted outside of Andrew’s cell, just like always. Nathaniel ducked his head back around the corner and considered his options. It was possible that the knights really had been wrong. There was no Moriyama Knight down here, and he had worried for nothing. Or the knight could be inside the cell right now alone with an injured and unarmed Andrew.

Nathaniel was torn as to what to do. He could approach the guard just as he had done for the past several days, but if the Moriyama Knight was in there would the guard refuse him entrance? If the guard did refuse him what would Nathaniel do then? Could he really just turn around and leave allowing Andrew to suffer through whatever was happening inside?

Why did he care if something was happening to Andrew or not? Andrew was his father’s prisoner. He wasn’t his friend, Nathaniel didn’t owe him anything. If their roles were reversed he was certain that Andrew would not act against his own kingdom to help him. 

But that was the problem. Andrew would never be stuck with this dilemma because the Foxhole Court would never unjustly imprison someone. Nathaniel knew his father and his people used any means necessary to get what they wanted. They had done it countless times before. Andrew was just an unfortunate pawn in all of this. Yet, so were those young knights that Nathaniel had just helped train and countless others before them, and he felt no need to help any of them.

So what made Andrew different from all the others? Was it because he was a Fox Knight? Was it all the time they had spent talking these past several days? Andrew would probably never know it but those interactions had been the most honest Nathaniel had been with anyone in a long time. He had found it easy to just be around him and sometimes wished their visits didn’t have to end so quickly.

A loud clang of metal crashing into metal shocked him out his thoughts. It had come from inside Andrew’s cell and sounded as if someone had just slammed the iron gate into the bars. There was definitely someone besides Andrew in his cell, and judging by how loud the crash had been whatever was happening in there sounded violent.

Nathaniel peaked his head back around the corner just in time to see the guard turning to face the cell door. He didn’t know exactly what was happening inside, but he knew that if the guard entered also it would mean just one more person that could harm Andrew. Nathaniel’s chest clenched painfully, and in that instant he knew what choice he had to make.

He leaped around the corner, unsheathed his sword, and sprinted at the guard. As the guard began to lift the latch on the door Nathaniel slammed the pommel of his sword into the back of his head. The guard’s face made a sickening crunch as it smashed into the door, and he slid to the floor unconscious. Nathaniel hastened to finish unlatching the door and pushed it open all while hoping none of his father’s people were inside.

He truly was unprepared for what he did see inside the cell.

Andrew was laying face down in the opening of the iron gate. His head had been brutally smashed against the bars and blood was smeared across his face. Though the most sickening part was the man on his knees straddling Andrew. He was using a knife to cut away Andrew’s shirt and pants and making no effort to avoid cutting into his skin as he did. Nathaniel’s blood boiled at the sight of the bloodied cuts littering his back and arms.

Alerted to the sound of the door being opened the man, who was wearing a Moriyama Knight surcoat, looked up. His face and arms were covered in a number of bloodied jagged scratches. Clear signs that Andrew had fought back. Though it didn’t matter how fierce Andrew was he had no chance against this huge knight while weakened from his leg injury and imprisonment.

When the knight caught sight of Nathaniel standing there his face erupted in rage and he began to shout, “I was told no one else would enter this cell. Get out. You can have him after I’m done, but Sir Riko promised I could have him first.”

Revulsion coursed so strongly through Nathaniel that his head swayed. He gripped his sword tighter and took a step forward intending on cutting out the Moriyama Knight’s tongue, but movement out of the corner of his eyes brought him up short. Andrew had tried to lift his head from where he was pinned below the knight, and with him so close Nathaniel couldn’t risk accidentally hurting him if he attacked haphazardly.

The slight movement caught the attention of the knight also. He turned away from Nathaniel to look down at Andrew, and when he tried to lift his head up for a second time the knight slid his hand from where it had been braced on Andrew’s back up into his hair. He twisted his fingers forcefully into the pale blond strands and forced his head back down. 

Disgust rose up like bile in his throat at the way the knight touched Andrew. His vision turned red, and he couldn’t hold himself back any longer. “Don’t touch him,” Nathaniel shouted as he leapt forward and swung out with his sword.

Alerted to his attack the knight managed to dodge at the last second, but hadn’t been fast enough to avoid it completely. A cut bloomed red across his right arm, causing the knight to drop his knife and scramble backward off Andrew. Nathaniel advanced towards him carefully stepping around Andrew to place himself between them. The knight’s back hit the wall and he rose to his feet. “You can’t do this, I’m a Moriyama Knight. Sir Riko will have your head for attacking me.”

Nathaniel knew Riko would be outraged at this slight against him, but he would have to get in line behind his father and Lola if he wanted Nathaniel’s head for this. He really couldn’t care less about that at the moment though, all he could think about right now was making this knight suffer for ever laying his hands on Andrew.

He moved to take another step forward but stopped cold when a knife sailed past him sinking deep into the knight’s chest. The knight stared down in horror at the knife, then up past Nathaniel before sliding down the wall. Nathaniel jerked around and saw Andrew had pushed himself up and had his hand still raised from where he had thrown the knights own knife at him.

Nathaniel stood perfectly still as he watched Andrew slowly stand, then make his way past him towards the knight. At Andrew’s approach the knight opened his mouth to plead, but before he could get a word out Andrew drove his knee into his face. The knight's head snapped backward slamming into the wall. With the knight dazed, Andrew reached down and pulled the knife from his chest. That familiar slick sound and accompanying sharp smell of blood flooded Nathaniel with so many horrendous memories that for a moment he felt like the floor had been snatched out from underneath him.

He managed to blink himself back to the present in time to see Andrew forcing the knight’s head back and sliding the knife deep across his throat. A terrible gurgling sound emitting from the jagged cut as the knight took his last breath.

They stood in silence as the Moriyama knight’s body slumped to the floor and crimson blood began pooling around him. Andrew turned away from the scene first. With him off the floor Nathaniel could see the full extent of his injuries. Andrew’s shirt had been cut to tatters, his back, arms, and chest were covered in lacerations, and the gash caused by the gate had caked the left side of his face in blood. Even though he was covered in injuries and blood all Nathaniel saw when he looked at Andrew was his strength.

Andrew regarded Nathaniel silently for short while before lifting the knife and asking, “Why should I not kill you also?”

The question did not come as a surprise. Even though he had just helped save Andrew, Nathaniel had garnered enough about his personality to know that Andrew would feel no sense of gratitude towards him. Andrew only saw him as a Wesninski and possible threat at that moment.

The only thing that could spare him now was if he continued to be helpful to Andrew. “The dungeon is designed like a maze, as well as the main floors of the castle, and even the garden surrounding it. You will never make it out of here without my help, and if you stay here they will kill you for this,” he said indicating the dead Moriyama Knight.

Andrew gestured with the knife at Nathaniel’s sword which he still held at the ready and ordered, “Put that away.” Nathaniel immediately complied. He had no intention of using it against Andrew, no matter what decision he came to.

Now defenseless he waited for Andrew to make his choice to trust him or not. Though his face betrayed no reaction, Nathaniel could see that he was warring with himself over his decision by the way his fist clenched and unclenched around the knife. Finally his body relaxed slightly, and he pointed with the knife at Nathaniel again. “Fine, I will let you live as long as you lead me out of the castle. But know that I will not hesitate to kill you if I believe you are trying to deceive me.” 

Nathaniel nodded in acceptance and let some of the tension ease from his shoulders. He trusted Andrew to keep his word. The only thing he needed to worry about now was how to get Andrew out of the castle without being spotted. It helped that only a handful of people would recognize him and that nobody would question an unfamiliar face with all the new recruits around. Though people would probably find his wounds and lack of sufficient clothing suspicious. “First we need to clean you up and find you clothes. We don’t want a trail of your blood leading them right to us.”

Andrew stared blankly at him, before reaching up to inspect the wound on his head. When he lowered his hand it was covered in blood. Andrew swayed on his feet. Now that his body wasn’t tensed for a fight all the blood loss and head trauma seemed to hit him. Afraid he might fall Nathaniel took a step towards him and reached out to help steady him. When Andrew noticed his intention he swiped at him with the knife and growled out, “Don’t touch me.”

Nathaniel raised his hands in acquiesce and stepped back. “I won’t touch you, but I think you need to sit down before you fall and bust the other side of your head open.”

Andrew glanced at the wall behind him but grimaced when he saw the body of the knight slumped there. He turned back and took slow careful steps past Nathaniel out of the inner part of the cell and to the opposite wall before sliding down it.

With Andrew safely sitting Nathaniel tried to think of what they could use to bind his wounds. His eyes focused on Andrew’s chest and the shirt that was just barely clinging to it still. “You could use what remains of your shirt to tie up some of your wounds.”

Andrew looked down at the shirt that was already cut to ribbons, pulled it off, and began to shred it more. Now they just needed something to dress Andrew in. Nathaniel wished he had his cloak it would have sufficiently covered all of Andrew, but he hadn’t worn it down to the sword training field this morning.

“Is he dead too?” Andrew’s asked. Brining Nathaniel’s attention from his thoughts and out the door to where Andrew was pointing at the unconscious guard.

“No, I just knocked him out,” he said as an idea struck him. He walked to the cell door, peaked out, then reached down and dragged the guard into the cell. Once he had him completely inside he began to strip off his outer layer of clothing.

Andrew paused from tying a strip of cloth around his head. “What are you doing?”

Nathaniel pulled off the guard’s tunic and held it out for Andrew. “You can put this on to help disguise you and cover your injuries.”

Andrew’s lips twitched in disgust but begrudgingly took the tunic. Nathaniel then went around to the guard’s feet and pulled off his boots he handed those to Andrew also. Once all of Andrew’s larger cuts had been wiped as clean as they could and bound he pulled on the tunic and boots. They were almost comically large on him.

As Andrew had tended to his wounds and dressed, Nathaniel had been forming what he thought was their best plan. Now he just needed to convince Andrew of it.

He peaked out the cell door again to check if anyone had entered the hallway. It was still clear. He turned back to Andrew and said, “Listen carefully I don’t expect to come across anyone else while in the dungeon, but once we reach the main floor we need to stay out of sight as much as possible. You need to follow me closely as we make our way up to the second floor and to my chambers.”

“Why your chambers,” Andrew cut in, “You said you were getting me out of the castle.”

“I will, but it’s daylight out still. I think people might find it suspicious if I am seen marching someone out of the castle, and across the grounds towards the outer wall. We will have to wait for nightfall.”

Andrew didn’t seem happy about having to wait but agreed anyway.

Together they made their way through the dungeon and up the stairs. At the top of the stairs they had to wait for a servant to pass by, then they were out on the main floor. Nathaniel used every hiding spot he knew of and took advantage of the castles winding corridors to lead them safely up to the next floor and to his chambers. Once they were inside he leaned his back against his locked door and let out a sigh of relief.

Andrew walked around and inspected the room. Nathaniel’s room was the second largest in the castle, only smaller than his father’s. It contained his canopied bed surrounded by curtains, a fireplace, his dresser, a wardrobe, a dividing screen for changing, his desk, and right now in the middle of the floor was the wooden tub full of water. Which Andrew was eyeing intensely. “You should use it,” Nathaniel told him. “It will help wash off the blood then you can re-bind your wounds once you’re clean.”

“And if they come looking for me while I’m in a bath?” Andrew asked.

Nathaniel thought for a moment. “Judging by what that knight said I do not believe they are going to be checking on your cell anytime soon. Just don’t take too long.”

Andrew gestured at the privacy screen. “Help me move this.” They each grabbed a side and positioned it so it would block the tub from view of half the room and most importantly the door.

Once they were finished Andrew disappeared behind the screen and Nathaniel went to his dressers to gather up the salve, bandages and new clothes for Andrew. He slung the clothes and bandages across the top of the screen and slid the salve behind it without looking. Then sat down at his desk to wait for Andrew, and to formulate a plan for getting him out of the castle.

As the thought about Andrew’s journey back to the Foxhole there were some small issues that he could solve easily enough, but there was one glaring problem that would hinder the whole thing. He had thought of a solution for it also but would have to convince Andrew of it first.

-

Andrew finished his bath quickly. Even though it felt wonderful to wash all the grime, blood, and general awfulness of the day away he didn’t want to risk spending any more time in there than necessary. As he got out, dried off, and changed into the clothes Nathaniel had provided he wondered how Riko had learned about Drake? Or what would have happened if Nathaniel hadn’t shown up when he did? No, that was a stupid question he knew exactly what Drake was going to do to him. Just like he had done so many times before when he had lived in that house.

No.

Stay focused. What needed to be done now? First, he needed to tend to a few cuts on his arms and chest and the larger one on his head. He hated himself for allowing Drake to get the upper hand so quickly. Being momentarily knocked out when he had his head slammed into the gate should have been where it all ended. 

No.

He didn’t need to think about that. He couldn’t afford to think about what-ifs right now, or worse take a trip down nightmare memory lane. He needed to focus on the present because he still wasn’t in the clear. Thankfully most of the injuries he had sustained from Drake’s assault weren’t too deep. Unlike the one Drake had sustained from him. It had been deeply satisfying to see the complete terror on his face as Andrew had finally fulfilled the promise he had made him the first time he had crept into his bed.

No.

Think about something else. Something like why Nathaniel had a seemingly unending supply of bandages stashed away in his room. Yes, this would work. He just needed to keep focused on his little Wesninski conundrum. As he bandaged his wounds he thought over all the ulterior motives Nathaniel could have for helping him, but in the end couldn’t think of one that made sense.

Once he was done he stepped around the screen and his eyes were drawn to where Nathaniel was bent over studying something on his desk. As he watched Nathaniel worry his lower lip between his teeth in thought Andrew contemplated how he had gotten into this mess. He felt like blaming Kevin would make a good start. Kevin who run from the largest kingdom to one of the smallest where Andrew just happened to live. Kevin and his stupid decision to try and fight Wesninski knights. Oh, and Wymack also for sending them on that stupid errand to begin with. Possibly Abby for needing the herb. Maybe he should go all the way back to the start with that woman abandoning him at birth.

None of that really mattered though. All that mattered was the fact that he was stuck in an enemy castle having to rely solely on a Wesninski to keep his promise. Which, in doing so, meant betraying his own people. Andrew couldn’t possibly see how this could go wrong.

Nathaniel had yet to take notice of Andrew which annoyed him to no end. He stalked up behind him, but Nathaniel only afforded him a brief glance before he turned back to his desk. “I’ve been thinking about what will happen once you’re outside the wall.”

Andrew looked down over Nathaniel’s shoulder to what he was studying. Strewn out over his desk was a map of the kingdom and piece of paper with supplies listed out. Andrew was loathed to see that apples were listed second right under rope. He turned his attention back to the map and noticed something peculiar. “Your castle isn’t located in the same spot as the maps I have seen.”

“That’s not surprising. I think it was my great grandfather who started the policy of having fake maps drawn up every so often so that if any outsiders try to attack they will find it exceedingly difficult to find the castle.”

Andrew scoffed at just how paranoid the Wesninski’s were. Although as he watched one of their own studying a map in order to help an enemy escape he did have to concede that maybe that paranoia was warranted. Also, it was a great military tactic. “Once I’m outside the wall I can just use this map to find the Foxhole.”

Nathaniel shook his head. “I think this one might actually be a fake. I have traveled to most parts of the kingdom with my father, and I distinctly remember this road passing between these two villages.” He pointed at two of the villages marked on the map with one hand and a road with another. “But on this map, it shows it passing through these two further to the north,” he said as he slid his fingers across the paper to indicate them.

Andrew shrugged he didn’t understand why Nathaniel was worrying about a road that was of no importance to him. “The Foxhole Court is located west of here, so I will just head that way.” 

Nathaniel jerked around in his chair and looked up at him with an incredulous expression. “Andrew, have you ever tried to travel in an unknown mostly forested area by yourself?”

“No, but...”

Nathaniel held his hand up towards Andrew’s face to shut him up. “No. So you have no idea how easy it is to get completely lost. And time will not be on your side out there. If you begin to wander around in circles you’ll run out of food, or lose your source of water. Plus the longer you are out there the more likely it is that you will be found by my father’s knights.”

Andrew opened his mouth to protest, but Nathaniel cut him off again, “And no you can not be near any roads, or risk going to any villages for help. As soon as Lola finds you missing she will send knights out to every single one to search for you.”

Andrew rubbed at his temples where a headache was beginning to form. He was finally free of that cell he didn’t need Nathaniel poking holes in his glorious escape. “What do you suggest I do then?”

Nathaniel glanced down at his maps for a moment before looking back up at Andrew with a look he could only describe as yearning. “I could come with you, as your guide.”

“No.” That was not happening. Andrew did not need to pile having to constantly be worried about Nathaniel betraying him on top of everything else he would be dealing with on his way back to the Foxhole Court.

Nathaniel sighed like he knew Andrew was going to refuse him but wasn’t willing to let it deter him. “Andrew, I have traveled all over the kingdom with my father and my mother. I will know exactly where we are by landmarks, and how to travel safely through the forest.”

Andrew didn’t believe for one second that Nathaniel was being honest with his reasonings to help him. He was definitely hiding something, and Andrew felt an itch to figure out exactly what it was. For now though his only choices seemed to be accept his help or die in the woods. “I don’t trust you and will not bring you to the Foxhole Court.”

Nathaniel shook his head. “You don’t have to. I will take you to the Broad River which marks your kingdom’s border, from there I’m sure you can go the rest of the way on your own.”

“What will you do then? I think they will notice you missing for that long.”

A determined look settled on Nathaniel’s face. “I am not coming back. I will keep traveling west, change my name, and hopefully find a kingdom that will take me as a knight. Like Kevin did.”

“Why?” Andrew couldn’t stop himself from asking. He didn’t understand why Nathaniel was suddenly intent on upending his whole life here.

“Most places have to be better than here,” Nathaniel answered in an almost whisper.

Andrew understood the sentiment, but couldn’t understand why Nathaniel of all people felt it “You’re a noble. You have every luxury you could ever need or want, and one day you will become the lord of the second largest kingdom. Why give all that up?”

Nathaniel cast a quick glance around his room then focused his attention back on him. “Andrew you are a Fox I would think that you would understand better than most that things are not always as they seem. I would gladly trade all of this to get away from them.”

Andrew didn’t know who the them was Nathaniel was referring to, but he had said it with such venom in his voice that he knew he meant it. It also helped click a few of the pieces about Nathaniel into place. It meant nothing that he was born the son of the lord if that lord happened to be Nathan Wesninski.

He couldn’t help but think this would come back to bite him in the ass. “You can come with me. But nothing has changed from before, I will not hesitate to kill you if I think you are going to bring harm to me or the Foxhole Court.”

Nathaniel jumped out of his chair and nodded eagerly. “Yes of course and I promise I have no intention of betraying you.” He started looking around his room. “I need to start packing. First I can gather up everything we will need from in here, but later I will have to make a trip downstairs for more supplies.”

“What do I need to do?”

Nathaniel stopped and studied him. “There isn’t much you can do right now.” His eyes roamed around his room again before they landed on his bed. “Why don’t you try to get some rest before we leave. I’m sure you need it.”

Andrew wasn’t going to argue with that, he really could use the rest. He climbed into the bed and drew the curtains shut. The bed was so soft and so nice to lay down on after he had spent the past eleven days on a stone floor. He knew he would not be able to sleep with Nathaniel in the room, but just being able to relax his body was restful enough.

*

He had listened as Nathaniel worked his way around his room gathering what they would need for the journey for well over an hour now. On several occasions he had come close to falling asleep but always caught himself before nodding off completely. He blamed it on way Nathaniel moved eerily quiet around the room.

A sudden loud knock on the door jolted him up. His heart pounded. He was hidden from view behind the drawn curtains, but if someone was sent here to search for him then he would have no place to hide.

He listened as Nathaniel crossed the room and opened the door. “What is it?”

A young male voice answered, “Young Lord, Lola has sent me to inform you that the Fox Knight prisoner has escaped…”

“What, how could this happen?” Nathaniel demanded.

“Apparently the Moriyama Knight brought a knife into the cell with him. There was a fight which ended with prisoner killing him with it.”

“The Moriyama Knight is dead?” Nathaniel exclaimed. He was putting on a good show. Even Andrew almost believed the outrage in his voice. “What of the guard?”

“The guard was unconscious and missing his tunic when they went to check the cell. When he woke up all he could remember was hearing a loud noise from inside the cell and that he had opened the latch in order to investigate it. Then he was knocked out.”

“What is Lola doing to find the prisoner?”

“She has already dispatched all the knights here to search the castle and grounds. She believes he is hiding somewhere since no watchtower guard has reported seeing anyone trying to get past the wall.”

“So why are you here?” Nathaniel asked. Andrew held his breath waiting for the answer. This was the moment of truth either they would demand to search the room or leave.

“Lola just sent me to tell you to remain in your room with the door locked for your own safety.”

Andrew released his breath in a relieved puff.

“If that is all then you are dismissed,” Nathaniel said.

Once the messenger left he heard the door shut and the lock click into place. He waited as Nathaniel crossed the room. When he reached the bed he yanked back the curtain and Andrew was faced with his exuberant smile. Andrew blamed the way his heart continued to pound away in his chest on his residual adrenaline rush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a whopper of a chapter, I had to add new warnings for it.
> 
> So there is some things I want to discuss about this chapter. Really they pertain to all of the chapters.  
> First is medieval clothing. When I saw Andrew is dressed in underclothes I don't mean he is sitting around in tighty whities and a wife beater. I mean he is wearing a full shirt and pants that are made of linen that would have been worn under the outer layer of clothing.  
> Shirt example: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/184014334757759990/  
> Pant Example: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pirate-Pants-Medieval-Renaissance-rendezvous-Cosplay-LARP-SCA-Costume-/121749355011  
> Over the shirt the knight would have worn chainmail (if in battle), and over the chainmail would have been their surcoat.  
> Surcoat Example: https://www.themovieswordshop.co.uk/jerusalem-surcoat  
> The peasant class probably would only wear the shirt and pant, possible a tunic over it. Though the shirt could be longer and pass as a tunic itself.  
> But as Andrew is a knight and Neil is a noble they are afforded more luxuries.
> 
> Next is the castle wall. It's not like a single wall, but a structure surrounding the castle which in itself can house many important rooms.  
> Examples: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g552048-d296691-i152067462-Pembroke_Castle-Pembroke_Pembrokeshire_Wales.html  
> This is a great example of what Castle Wesninski and the surrounding area inside the walls could be imagine as. Minus the moat. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/50243352071122944/
> 
> Now onto the chapter. I really like this chapter, we finally get to start to see them interact without being divided by a prison cell.  
> Also I have always wanted to see an AU where Andrew gets to kill that bastard Drake himself, yet I not come across one.  
> So I wrote one.  
> During this part you should totally imagine Neil standing behind Andrew acting like Tyler Cutebiker from gravity falls.  
> He is just like get 'em get 'em.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading. I hope you are enjoying it so far!!!!!  
> If I need to add any more content warnings just hmu  
> <3  
> (Updated 5/3/19)


	5. Chapter 5

“It worked,” Nathaniel practically cheered as he peered in at Andrew through the bed curtains. 

Of course Andrew didn’t show any type of excitement, or any other emotion, over getting away with the first part of their plan. He just said, “There is no point in celebrating yet. The only thing you managed to do was get me stuck in here, while the rest of the castle is swarming with guards.”

“Hmmm.” Nathaniel couldn’t explain why but he really wanted to see if he could get some kind of reaction out of Andrew. “Maybe I could just keep you locked in here forever, I think my mother told me a story like that when I was younger.”

The only reaction he succeeded in getting was Andrew lowering his eyebrows into a deadly glare. “I would kill you within the week if you tried to keep me locked in here.” Andrew waved his hand dismissively at him. “Now stop bothering me and go back to packing and actually being useful.”

“Fine,” Nathaniel said with a huff before releasing the curtains and stepping back away from his bed. Maybe while they traveled together he would be able to break past Andrew’s impassive wall.

Besides tiny bits of anger flaring up, Andrew had yet to show any kind of emotion while they had spent time together. Nathaniel wasn’t sure if that was just how Andrew was, or if he was being more withdrawn while being held captive. Either way they would have around two weeks of walking through the forest with nothing better to do than talk to each other, so he would find out then. Nathaniel was kind of looking forward to it. Or maybe he was just looking forward to getting away from this castle and the Moriyamas.

He crossed back to his wardrobe where he had the two satchels they would be taking with them stashed away. He knew when he started packing them that it would be a good idea to keep them out of sight. Just in case anyone had come to check on him it would not have looked good on his part to have two packed bags sitting in the middle of his room.

For the past hour he had been searching through all of this belongings deciding what they would need to bring. It was a good thing the Wesninski’s and even his mother had not been big on owning what they considered extraneous items. As he wasn’t having to debate with himself about bringing any mementos from his life here. The extra weight would have only ladened them down too much. Though there was one jewelry box of his mother’s that had been passed down to her from her family that he wished he could bring. It was the only thing left in the castle that had been hers, but it was kept in his father’s room and he would not risk searching for it.

So far he had packed extra sets of under clothes, and outer clothes, bandages, the salve, a long coil of rope, waterskins, and the map even though it was not completely accurate. The act of packing a bag to runaway was a familiar process to him, he had done it many times before. Usually after getting home from trips to the Moriyama Kingdom where he had been beaten black and blue by Riko. After healing himself up in his room he would pack up his satchel and think about what life could be like far away from here. In the end though he always ended up staying. 

His mother had tried to run away with him once when Nathaniel had been much younger. It was his one and only actual escape attempt and it had not ended well. So now every time he contemplated running he was brought back to that failed attempt, and his mother’s last wish for him. She made him promise her and repeat it over and over again that he would do everything he could to survive.

He knew that running away by himself and trying to live out in the forest with nowhere to go would most likely end in his death. So every time he would unpack his bag and accept that the only way he could survive was to remain in this castle. For his mother’s sake he would endure his father’s and Riko’s cruelty.

He studied the items, thought about what the journey would entail once more, and decided that was all they would need from his room. It was usually around this point that he started to second guess himself, and think back on the promise he made his mother. This time though Nathaniel felt exhilarated at the thought of running from this place again, because now he had a direction and a purpose. He didn’t have to worry about surviving the journey through the forest on his own either, because Andrew would be there to watch his back. As long as Andrew didn’t kill him first that is.

A noise behind him drew his attention and he turned to see Andrew getting out of bed. “Shouldn’t you be resting still?” Nathaniel asked him. “It hasn’t been that long.”

Andrew shook his head. “I’m bored of sitting and doing nothing.” He approached Nathaniel and looked down at the contents of their bags. “Is that all?”

“From in here, yes. We need to keep them light, and unless you are any good with a bow for hunting?” Andrew shook his head again. “Then we will have to carry enough food to last us while we travel, and that is going to make the satchels heavy enough.”

“What about weapons and chainmail?” Andrew asked him.

“I will have my sword, and I can grab you whatever kind of weapon you prefer when I go down for the food.” The armory was located outside the castle, so Nathaniel wasn’t too sure where he would find said weapons though. If all else failed his father did keep some ornamental weapons hung on the wall in the great hall he could rip down.

“I prefer knives, balanced for throwing would be best,” Andrew said.

“Okay.” Well that made things easier, between his father and Lola there should be an abundance of knives in the castle. “As for the chainmail it will be too heavy to carry or wear while we travel.”

“What if we’re attacked?” Andrew interjected.

Nathaniel shrugged. “We try not to get stabbed, or shot with an arrow.”

Andrew crossed his arms across his chest and huffed. “Sounds like a terrible plan.”

“It’s better than wearing the chainmail constantly just in case we’re attacked. We will tire too quickly and not be able to travel as far as we need to each day. Plus wearing the chainmail will make your injuries much worse.”

Andrew did not look happy about forgoing the chainmail, but still seemed to resign himself to being without. “What now?”

Nathaniel went to his window and saw that the sun had already begun to set. “Now we wait until the sun sets all the way so I can go down for the rest of our supplies, then we leave.”

With nothing to do but wait Nathaniel perched himself on his window ledge and watched as more and more knights poured from inside the castle to the grounds as the sun continued to set. The knights must have finished searching the castle, and were now moving their search outside. Which was good timing for Nathaniel, it meant less people for him to run into while he scavenged the kitchens.

Andrew had pulled the map out of the bag and was studying it. As Nathaniel watched him he noticed that Andrew seemed to be straining more and more to read it in the dimming light. Nathaniel rose from his window perch, went to his desk, and took out his firesteel to light a few candles. He nearly dropped the firesteel back in his desk, but thought better of it and packed it away in one of their satchels for the journey.

He turned back to find Andrew quietly watching him. “You can use the light to study the map easier now. From my memory of travelling and other maps I’ve seen it seems to be fairly accurate, only the roads are wrong. Which won’t matter too much to us, since we won’t be taking them.”

Andrew gave him a brief nod and took the seat at Nathaniel’s desk. Nathaniel checked his window once more and decided the sun had sunk low enough over the horizon that if he left now by the time he returned it would be plenty dark for them to sneak out. He gathered one of the satchels and slung it around his shoulder. As he passed by Andrew he said, “I’m going to go down now, lock the door after I leave. I’ll knock softly on the door five times when I’ve returned.”

Nathaniel grabbed his cloak and slipped out the door. As soon as it closed he heard Andrew click the lock into place. The hallway outside his room was thankfully empty, and he didn’t hear any other noise coming from nearby. He crept down the hall to the stairs, and stopped to listen. Still no noise. He continued to make his way like that slowly down to the kitchen. He knew from bringing food down to Andrew for the past week what he preferred, and he knew from travelling with his mother and father which food would keep best for long periods of travel. So he had a pretty good idea of what to grab.

As per usual for this time of night the kitchens were empty. He dropped the satchel on a table and started to gather dried meats, cheese, bread, vegetables and some fruit. The fruit would have to be eaten first, since it would go bad fastest.

With food procured he made his way out of the kitchen. As he left a thought occurred to him there was one room in the castle that might have weapons in it, and would be far from any possible prying eyes. If it did he wouldn’t have to risk going into the great hall or worse the knight’s quarters. He crept along to where the stairs to the dungeons were located, but instead of going down he went into the room beside them.

This was the disarming room. The room that prisoners were taken to be stripped of all weaponry, and guest weapons were housed for the duration of their stay. Usually the prisoner’s weapons were transferred to the armory, since they wouldn’t be getting them back. Nathaniel just hoped that he would find something Andrew could use in the room. Of course whenever he opened the door the only thing he noticed was that it was too dark inside for him to see anything at all. He cursed and made his way back into the hallway to find a lantern or torch he could use. Once he found one that wasn’t attached to the wall he went back inside.

Now that he could see he found the room tragically empty. All it contained was a single bench, some wall shackles that were flecked with dried blood, and a vacant weapon’s holder. Hoping that his trip here plus the risk he took by getting the lantern hadn’t been for nothing he shown the light all around the walls searching. He was dispirited to find nothing else besides a pile of dirty cloth in one of the corners. He toed his boot at the pile, he didn’t really think it was hiding anything useful, but he might as well check. As the top cloth slipped down the pile it revealed something metal and shiny. He bent down to inspect it and to his surprise it was a chainmail shirt. He picked it up and found two pieces of leather and a pair of boots under it.

Nathaniel placed the chainmail shirt aside and picked up the odd shaped pieces of leather they were stiff, heavier than expected, and hollow. Curious as to what they were he moved them closer to the lantern, but the movement caused something to slip out of one and clink to the floor. The sound echoed loudly around the small room. Nathaniel sat stone still and listened for any footsteps approaching. After a few moments of silence he released his held breath, thankful nobody had been close enough to have overheard the noise. He looked down at what had fallen and saw a knife.

He carefully maneuvered the leather around as to not jostle anything else loose, and examined them. They were double layered with thin pockets sewn on the inside and each pocket housed a knife. He picked up the knife that had fallen out and noticed it was perfectly balanced for throwing. He pulled a few more free and found none of them were the same. Some were made for throwing, some were made to be used in hand to hand combat, and one was made to easily defend against a sword. Curious as to how he got so lucky in finding a perfect set of knives for Andrew, Nathaniel took a closer look at the cloth that had been covering them. It was actually a surcoat and sewn onto its center was the Foxhole Kingdom Coat of Arms. Nathaniel didn’t recognize it at first because it was grey, covered in dirt and blood, and had multiple tears through it. Also the Foxhole Surcoats were usually orange and white. Though Nathaniel really couldn’t fault Andrew for not wanting to wear those particular colors through enemy territory, since they tended to stand out a little too much.

Excited that he had actually stumbled across Andrew’s own set of knives he packed them away along with the boots. He hurried back up to his room with the knowledge that Andrew would be pleased at having his own belongings back.

-

Andrew had to wait quite some time before he heard the five soft knocks that indicated Nathaniel’s return. In that time he had studied the map enough to have it easily memorized. So if Nathaniel did betray him, he would at least have a general understanding of which way he needed to go in order to get to the Foxhole Court.

Upon hearing the knocks Andrew drew out the knife he used to kill Drake with, in case it was anyone besides Nathaniel at the door. He unlatched the door and opened it just enough to catch a glimpse of the person on the other side. When he saw it was Nathaniel he pushed the door open to let him slip inside.

Once in Nathaniel pushed the door closed and locked it again. Without saying anything he walked to the middle of the room, dropped his bag to the ground, and began to rummage through it. He quickly found what he was looking for and turned to hold it out to Andrew. When he saw what it was his heart gave a quick lurch, because in Nathaniel’s hands were his armbands.

He quickly stalked across to Nathaniel and took his armbands from him. “Where did you find them?”

Nathaniel had a smug smile on his face as he said, “I thought it would be a good idea to check the disarming room for any weapons, and to my luck I found all of your belongings left piled in a corner. I can’t believe the guards just left everything there after they stripped you of it.”

Andrew flinched at the thought of being touched while unconscious. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. He tried to take solace in the fact that he had not been stripped completely at least, since he’d woken in his own under clothes.

Nathaniel was still standing in front of Andrew looking at him expectantly. If he found Andrew’s momentary lapse odd, he didn’t give any indication of it. Andrew wasn’t sure what he was waiting on, if it was a thank you he wasn’t getting one. Choosing to continue to ignore Nathaniel’s staring he slide his armbands on. As soon as they were in place he breathed a relieved sigh. They brought him a comfort he hadn’t realized he had been missing so badly. He had really believed they would be lost to him forever. He slipped his fingers beneath the leather to check that each knife was still securely in place. Once they were all accounted for he pulled one free and began to flip it around in his hand.

Bee was always telling him that he used his armbands and knives to help create a shield between himself and everyone else. And how before he came to the Foxhole Court his weapons had helped protect him, but now that he was surrounded by family and ‘friends’ he didn’t need to wear that armor every day. In return Andrew told her that as much as he enjoyed most of their talks and her sweets, she could keep her advice about his armbands to herself because he was never going to stop wearing them. He wanted to keep that distance from himself and the rest of the world.

Now all he could think about was getting back home and telling Bee that after being stuck in a dungeon and faced with an actual nightmare he wished he could have them permanently attached to his arms.

Then he was struck by a thought. This was the first time he had allowed himself think about talking with Bee again since he had woken up in the Wesninski’s dungeon.

A soft “oh” caught his attention.

He looked up to find Nathaniel standing closer than before. “So that’s how those work,” Nathaniel said as his hand reached out to touch Andrew’s armbands.

Andrew’s body froze up. He just stood and watched, unable to do anything, as Nathaniel reached out to him. When his hand was bare centimeters from Andrew’s arm Nathaniel stopped.

He quickly drew his hand up against his chest, took a step back away from Andrew and said, “I’m sorry, I just remembered that you don’t like to be touched. I just,” he gestured at the armbands, “I’ve never seen anything like those before. Did you have them made?”

Andrew was still standing frozen, although now it was because he was stunned by Nathaniel’s action. He had stopped. Nathaniel had remembered his no touching rule, and actually heeded it. Most members of the Fox Court didn’t even do him that courtesy, especially his overly friendly cousin.

He was so caught off guard that he began to answer Nathaniel’s question without censure, “Yes, Renee made them for me, some of the knives originally belonged to her.”

“Renee?” Nathaniel had phrased her name like a question, but Andrew didn’t think he was asking him. Even if he was Andrew would not give away any more information about her. “Oh,” Nathaniel clapped his hands together in excitement. “She is the cleric for the Foxhole Court.”

Nathaniel had clearly answered his own question, and Andrew was not happy that he had the knowledge to do so. It was not the first time Nathaniel had proven he knew more than Andrew thought he should about his kingdom, and he was starting to find it disconcerting. Renee’s role as cleric of Foxhole Castle was meant to be well guarded information, since it was a very uncommon practice for a woman and many would take issue with it. Clearly it was not well guarded enough if the Wesninski’s knew about it.

One of these days Andrew would have to ask him where the Wesninski’s were getting all of their information from. His bet was on Seth, his whole being just screamed rat. Right now though they had bigger things to deal with, he also wanted to bring Nathaniel’s thoughts away from the Foxhole Court. “Didn’t you say you found my other belongings also. Where are they?”

Nathaniel turned back to the bag and dug through it again. “I only brought your boots. The surcoat was destroyed and since we decided against bringing chainmail I saw no reason to carry it up.” He turned back to Andrew and held out his boots for him.

Andrew took them and pulled them on. It would be good to have his own boots for the journey, having to borrow a pair from Nathaniel would have made the long trek even more painful on his feet.

After he had given Andrew his boots Nathaniel went to his wardrobe and pulled out the other satchel. He placed it on the floor and set about dividing up the food between them.

Once he finished he stood and went to grab two tunics from his wardrobe. He tossed one of them to Andrew and began to pull the other one over his head. Andrew followed suit and pulled on his also, they were a fine quality and dyed a deep blue color. He knew that particular shade of blue was used to symbolize the Wesninski Kingdom. Andrew supposed they had chosen it to complement the auburn hair and icy blue eyes he heard they were all born with. After he finished adjusting the tunic he looked up to see Nathaniel with tunic in place and strapping his sword belt around his narrow waist, and supposed that maybe they were right.

Nathaniel reached back into the wardrobe and pulled out a long black cloak, which he handed to Andrew also. “These will help camouflage us in the dark, and they are made of a thick material so we can use them when we sleep.” Then he hoisted one of the bags over his shoulder and pulled his own cloak on over it.

Andrew studied the cloak for a moment and noticed it had the same blue gems encrusted into the clasp just like the one Nathaniel was always wearing. He wondered if Nathaniel even comprehended the fact that he had just handed over what would amount to a small fortune in precious gems to Andrew. He probably didn’t, and Andrew had no intention of giving them back once they reached the Broad River. He would keep them as compensation for him having to suffer through this whole ordeal. He wrapped the cloak around his shoulders and clasped it around his neck. Then did his best to ignore the fact that Nathaniel’s cloak was just slightly too long on him.

Nathaniel walked past him and pressed his ear to the door to listen for sound coming from the hallway. “Okay just like on the way up, stay close and follow my instructions.”

Andrew grabbed his bag, nodded his acknowledgement, and followed Nathaniel out the door. They made it down to the first floor easily, and then across to a door that would lead them outside. Beside the door Nathaniel placed his back against the wall and opened the door just enough to check that nobody was guarding it. The coast was clear, as they stepped outside Andrew took a deep breath of fresh air. It was the first time he had been outside in almost twelve days now, and at one point he thought he would never breathe cool fresh night air again.

He looked around to take in their surroundings. They were standing in a small garden, but Andrew wasn’t sure if this was the back or side of the castle. He knew it couldn’t be the front though. From the door a small gravel path led through the garden to a cleared arched entryway in a towering hedge. The hedge had to be around seven feet tall, and from what he could see seemed to surround the whole castle.

When Nathaniel had told him the garden was a maze he hadn’t thought he meant it was a literal maze. He wanted to ask Nathaniel why the Wesninski’s would surround their castle with a hedge maze since it seemed like it would make life for everyone working their unnecessarily more difficult, but knew that it was too risky for them to talk right now.

Though there was no one in the garden near them, he could hear people further out probably past the maze. Nathaniel pulled his hood over his head, and indicated for Andrew to follow. Andrew followed his lead, and they made their way easily through the maze. Of course growing up here Nathaniel should know exactly where to go.

As they made their way through the maze the voices started to grow louder and Nathaniel started to walk slower and stop more often. Nathaniel rounded one of the corners then stopped and pulled back abruptly. He moved back past Andrew hurriedly in the direction they had just come from. Andrew followed and noticed that Nathaniel turned from the path they had originally taken and were now on a different one. Andrew thought Nathaniel must have spotted a knight, and was now taking them to a different exit. When Nathaniel led them to a dead end instead Andrew was thoroughly confused.

Nathaniel turned back to face him and Andrew couldn’t contain himself anymore he whispered angrily, “Are you lost?”

Nathaniel glared at him. “No, I’m not lost. There was a knight standing guard at the exit.”

So Andrew had been right, it also explained why there was no one guarding the doors to the castle. “So take us to a different exit.”

Nathaniel shook his head. “There are only three exits. One facing east, one facing west, and one facing north. The front of the castle faces south, and the maze doesn’t reach that far. We have to use the east exit for my plan to work.”

“What plan?” He had hoped Nathaniel had a plan, but he had yet to explain it to Andrew.

Nathaniel shook his head again. “I’m not going to explain it all right now, just stay here. I’m going to create a distraction, then I will come back for you.”

Andrew didn’t like the idea of being left here while Nathaniel went off somewhere else, but knew he didn’t have much of a choice either. “Fine.”

Nathaniel left. Andrew waited. While he waited he began to wonder what kind of distraction Nathaniel was going to cause, he hoped it wasn’t anything stupid. He wished Nathaniel had explained the plan to him. Why hadn’t he thought to ask about it before they left his room, he had just blindly followed Nathaniel.

He kept waiting, for a while he didn’t hear anything happening apart from the normal noises of the night. Then he heard a gruff voice call out, “The prisoner has been spotted by the west wall. Everyone is to make their way over to help search the area.”

Not a moment later another voice slightly further away called out, “The prisoner is trying to escape by the west wall, everybody head that way.” The call continued to spread around. Andrew had to admit the simplicity yet seemingly effectiveness of Nathaniel’s plan surprised him. Unless this wasn’t his plan and Nathaniel had been the one spotted, in that case Andrew was doomed.

A twig snapping nearby made Andrew reach for a knife, but before he could pull one free Nathaniel turned the corner. He was smirking. “It worked, most of the knights have already started heading towards the west side. We going to have a clear path east.”

Andrew might have thought it was a good plan, but he was not going to pander to Nathaniel’s self-congratulating. “What happens when they figure out that no one actually saw me?”

Nathaniel’s smile somehow managed to get smugger. “Well, you see since there are so many people looking for you it will take them way too long to figure out that no one actually saw you. And by then we will be over the wall and deep into the forest.”

His smug smile was making Andrew want to punch something. Instead he choose to stomp past him, so he wouldn’t have to look at his face anymore.

They retraced the path back to where Nathaniel had spotted the guard the first time. Nathaniel must not have been worried about the knight anymore because he walked right up to the exit. As Andrew followed after him a dark shape on the ground caught his eye. When he looked closer he saw it was a knight. Nathaniel had knocked him out and dragged his body around the corner.

When they exited the maze Andrew got his first look at the rest of the grounds. He could see a few wooden buildings, horse stables, a vegetable garden, a small orchard of apples trees, and the wall which encompassed it all. He could hear people still calling out to each other in the opposite direction, but didn’t see anyone between them and the wall.

Nathaniel took them on a path from the hedge to the wall that kept them close to buildings to help shield them from view. When they reached the wall Nathaniel crept along its base till he found a door. He pulled it open to reveal an empty room with only a set of stairs in it. They hurried in and closed the door behind them. At the top of the stairs was a hatch, which Andrew assumed opened onto the top of the wall. Nathaniel started up the stairs and Andrew followed, when he reached the hatch Nathaniel pushed it up.

When his body was halfway out of the hatch Nathaniel froze. Andrew was behind him and couldn’t see what caused Nathaniel to stop like that, he could only guess it was a guard.

Nathaniel stood frozen for only a moment more. He lifted his hand to Andrew to indicate that he should stay put, then he walked the rest of the way up the stairs. When he reached the top he faced whoever was out there.

“What are you doing here?” Nathaniel asked in a demanding tone.

A voice that sounded far too young to be a knight answered, “Umm, I’m on my watch. Sir?”

Nathaniel took a step closer to the knight. “Didn’t you hear the calls? The prisoner was spotted by the west wall you should be over there helping search.”

The knight sounded unsure as he said, “But, I was told to never leave my post.”

Nathaniel’s tone took on an icy sneer. “Are you too scared to face a lowly Fox Knight?”

“No Sir. I just….”

“Do you know who I am?” Nathaniel asked voice deadly cold.

“No sir.” Of course not Andrew thought. With how dark it was and Nathaniel’s hood raised nobody would be able to tell who he was.

Nathaniel barked out a cruel laugh. “If you did know who I was you would know to be more scared of questioning me than you are of facing that hedge-born. Now do as I said the first time, and don’t make me say it again or you will not like the consequences.”

The knight squeaked out a ‘Yes sir’ and Andrew heard his footsteps racing away.

After the sound faded Nathaniel turned back to look down through the hatch at Andrew. “You can come up now he is out of sight.”

Andrew climbed up the stairs and stood beside Nathaniel. “Did you have a class on instilling fear in your vassals, or is that just something you people are born with?” Andrew asked him snidely. He was feeling a little vindictive after hearing Nathaniel use the hedge-born slur to describe him.

Nathaniel gave him a contemptuous look. “I don’t know about everyone else, but I learned it from my father starting at a very young age.” He turned away from Andrew and stomped over to the edge of the wall.

Andrew wasn’t certain if he meant his father had actually taught him, or if he meant he had learned it through his own fear of his father. Based on the fact that he was currently tying a rope between two battlements in order to escape Andrew felt like he could make a pretty good guess.

Once Nathaniel had the rope tied securely in place he turned to Andrew. “You start down first, then I will follow. Once you reach the ground stay against the wall.”

Andrew nodded, readjusted his satchel, and stepped out onto the ledge of the wall. As soon as he looked down his heart began to pound and his breathing became erratic. He closed his eyes and clenched his fist in hopes of keeping his body from shaking him right off the edge. He hated heights. He always hated having to do watch duty along the castle wall at the Foxhole Court. He knew in his head that it was safe to stand up there, but the fear of falling always sent his heart racing.

Once he had calmed his breathing enough he opened his eyes and carefully sat down on the edge with his legs dangling over the side. His heart was still thundering erratically in his chest. At least the way Nathaniel had tied the rope made it fall between two of the merlons, which gave him easier access to it. With one more deep breath Andrew turned over onto his stomach, and slowly scooted backwards till only his elbows were bracing him on the top part of the wall. Now he had to let go of the wall with one hand and reach down to grab the rope. He repeated over and over in his head that he wasn’t going to fall.

With one hand and his legs gripped tightly to the rope all he needed to do now was force himself to let go of the solid stable wall. As he did it he couldn’t help but think that this was stupid, he should have stayed in the cell and taken his chances fighting all the Wesninski Knights.

About halfway down he felt the rope jostle and he instinctively clutched tighter. He looked up to see Nathaniel had begun to lower himself off the wall. The sight made Andrew’s pulse quicken again. What if the rope couldn’t hold both of them and broke? What if Nathaniel lost his grip and fell? What if they were spotted like this? An archer could easily pick them off.

Nathaniel finished lowering himself onto the rope, and looked down at Andrew with a curious expression. Andrew realized he hadn’t moved in a while now. So he forced himself stop thinking about what ifs and start moving again.

It didn’t take him much longer to reach the ground. He stepped away from the rope to give Nathaniel room, but stayed up against the wall. When Nathaniel reached the ground also Andrew asked, “What now?”

There was a large clearing between the wall and the forest growing about thirty yards away. They would have to cross it, but if an archer saw them they were dead.

“We just have to run for it and hope nobody spots us.”

Andrew gave him the most derisive look he could muster right then. Nathaniel just shrugged and took off running towards the woods. Andrew bit out a ‘dammit’ then began to run after him. 

They reached the edge of the forest safely, but had to stop and catch their breath. As soon as they were breathing easier again Nathaniel turned north and started walking.

Andrew didn’t immediately follow him instead he asked, “Isn’t the Foxhole the other way?”

Nathaniel stopped and glanced over his shoulder at him. “Yes, but there is a stream just a little bit north of here which runs west, we will follow it until it reaches the grain fields. Then we will turn and follow those south, and so on and so forth till we reach the Broad River. We have to follow the landmarks. We can’t just walk towards the Foxhole Court and pray to not get hopelessly lost.” He turned back and continued walking north.

Andrew huffed at Nathaniel’s unnecessary sarcasm but still followed after him. He just hoped choosing to travel with Nathaniel wasn’t going to turn out to be more trouble than it was worth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A merlon is the part of the castle wall that sticks up. So the rope was tied between two sticky uppy parts and hung down where the wall was flat.
> 
> Idk why I have a thing for hedge mazes but I do. They are super impractical yet so cool.
> 
> Also I just posted this question of Tumblr, but how many knives did you guys think Andrew housed in his armbands. I always imagined it was a few. My husband said they couldn't possible hold more that two. For this AU I imagine the leather armbands are holding like four each. Or you could just imagine like a whole arsenal in those things. His armbands are actually a TARDIS. Kinda like Neil's cloak in chapter 3, that thing was holding a lot of food and clothes and salve and bandages.  
> Another thing how do you describe and armband. I sat there forever trying to think of good words. Hopefully it wasn't too awkward. 
> 
> Thanks so much for reading and commenting and leaving kudos.  
> <3


	6. Chapter 6

They had found the stream easily and turned to follow it west. They walked along its bank that night until the forest became too dense and blocked out most of the moonlight making it unsafe for them to travel any further. They found a thicket that would provide them enough cover and took shelter in it for the rest of the night. Neither slept. They were still too hyped up and jittery from their escape, and apprehensive about being caught to try and attempt sleep. As the night wore on and exhaustion started to take over Andrew caught himself nodding off a few times, but had been startled instantly into wakefulness at any sound. As soon as the first rays of light began to trickle down to the forest floor they crawled out from the thicket and continued on their way.

Andrew was beyond exhausted. The sun was high overhead and they had already been walking for hours today. He hadn’t slept in over a day, hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in almost two weeks, and yesterday had been emotionally and physically taxing. He didn’t even want to think about how if Nathaniel’s calculations were correct he had two more weeks of nights spent getting poor sleep on cold hard ground and days spent walking endlessly.

At least Andrew was used to pushing his body past the point of exhaustion. He had been sold into servitude at a very young age, and forced to work grueling hours day after day with the bare minimum amounts of food and sleep. Although he did have to admit that the last three years he’d spent at the Foxhole Court had been rather cushy. Still he thought he should be better equipped to handle the exhausting journey than his noble born traveling companion.

Speaking of his companion, Nathaniel had abruptly stopped and held his hand up to indicate for him to do the same. Andrew stopped and listened, but didn’t hear anything apart from the wind rustling the leaves and birds chirping.

Nathaniel backtracked from where he had been standing a few yards ahead of Andrew. When he got close enough he said, “Stay here.” He unclasped his cloak, dropped it to the ground, and then dropped his satchel on top of it. “I’m going to run up ahead and check something. I’ll be right back.”

Before Andrew could protest Nathaniel took off running. With how thick the forest was it took no time at all for him to disappear from sight. Andrew knew better than to call after him, but wished Nathaniel had at least told him how long he expected to be gone.

He released a sigh and with nothing better to do than wait he sat down to help ease the ache coming from his injured calf. The wound had already formed a scab that was getting smaller everyday as the skin underneath healed, but that didn’t stop it from becoming increasingly more painful to walk on.

While rubbing at his calf to alleviate some of the soreness he realized just how hungry he was. They had eaten a little the night before, but hadn’t stopped to eat yet today. Nathaniel had grabbed them enough food to last through the journey if they only ate just enough to sustain themselves each day. Knowing they needed to be sparing with every meal he grabbed the bread, meat, and cheese from his satchel, and began to slice only a small portion of each off for his lunch.

“What are you doing?”

Andrew flinched and nearly threw the knife in his hand at whoever had just spoken, until his brain caught up and he realized it had been Nathaniel’s voice. He looked up to see Nathaniel emerging from between two trees into the small clearing Andrew was sitting in. He had not heard Nathaniel approaching at all, and he had been actively listening for and sounds of movement. It was seriously creepy how quietly he could move.

His heart was still pounding in his chest, but he forced his voice to sound calm when he answered, “What does it look like.”

Nathaniel looked down at him with a disbelieving expression. “It looks like you’re lounged out on my cloak eating. I wasn’t even gone for that long.”

Andrew shrugged one shoulder. “Shouldn’t have tossed it on the ground if you didn’t want me sitting on it. And I didn’t know how long you were going to be gone, since you just ran off.”

“So you decided to have a picnic?”

Andrew shrugged his shoulder again, but instead of answering he popped a piece of the cheese into his mouth and chewed it slowly.

Nathaniel released a lengthy huff. “Sure let’s stop here and have lunch.” 

Even though his comment was dripping with sarcasm he did sit on the opposite end of the cloak and pull an apple from his bag. In all the times Nathaniel had brought food down with him to the cell, Andrew had yet to see him eat anything besides fruit. Under normal circumstances Andrew wouldn’t give a shit about Nathaniel’s eating habits, but he really didn’t need him passing out from not eating enough. At least till they reached the Foxhole Kingdom’s border, after that Nathaniel could do whatever he wanted.

So he had to ask, “Do you only plan on eating apples the whole time?”

Nathaniel looked at the apple in his hand and said, “No. They just need to be eaten first, or they’ll go bad.”

“You can’t really expect to be able to walk for the rest of the day on one apple?”

Nathaniel shrugged his shoulders up and said, “So, I’ll eat another one if I get hungry.”

Andrew had to force himself to not roll his eyes at this idiot. Instead he cut off a slice of meat, speared it onto the end of his knife, and held it out towards Nathaniel. “Eat this.”

Nathaniel reached cautiously towards the knife, he seemed wary of putting his hand near it. “Don’t stab me,” he said as he reached out and pulled the meat off, then quickly retracted his hand away.

Andrew didn’t think he was wearing his I’m about to stab you face, but had to concede that he might just always look like that. “If I had any intention of stabbing you, I wouldn’t be wasting food on you right now,” he told him.

A small smile upturned the corner of Nathaniel’s mouth and he gave a light huff of a laugh as he said, “Well, that’s good to know.” 

A sharp warm feeling shot through Andrew’s chest at the sight, and he immediately dug his fingernails into his palm to counteract the feeling. Who gave Nathaniel the right to look like that? Andrew didn’t need this. Not now and not ever in regards to Nathaniel Wesninski. Andrew turned his head away and focused on slicing his knife through the bread instead.

They ate for a few more minutes in silence before Andrew remembered what led to this impromptu lunch. “What did you run off to go check on anyways?”

Nathaniel made a humming noise and hurried to finish the bite of apple he had just taken. “We’re about to come up on the grain fields, I was just checking how much further they were.”

Andrew looked towards the direction they had been walking in and didn’t notice anything different about it compared to the rest of the forest. “How did you know?”

Nathaniel pointed at the water. “The stream divides here. The farmers diverted it so they could get water to the northern and southern ends of their fields.”

“Why do you know that?” Andrew recalled the map and couldn’t remember the stream dividing marked on it. 

“It’s where they grow the grain that’s used in the castle. I’ve been here many times, it takes less than two hours to reach on horseback.”

Nathaniel’s revelation made Andrew want to collapse on the ground and take a nap. They had been walking for hours already today, plus the few they had walked last night and they weren’t even a two hour horseback ride away from the castle.

Ignoring his exhaustion again he choose to focus on a more important facet instead, like what were the chances they would be spotted here. “How many people live out here?”

“Not many. There are a few houses for the farmers and their families, but the main village is to the north.”

“And were about to turn south.” He remembered Nathaniel mentioning that last night.

He nodded. “Yes, we will head south now. Our best plan is to keep close enough to the edge of the forest to make sure we stay headed in the right direction, but not so close that we might be spotted.”

With so few people living out here Andrew didn’t think they would have too much to worry about.  
Now that they were done eating, they packed up, and continued on. When they were close enough to the grain field that they would be able to just glimpse it between the trees they turned south.

*

They had been walking south for about two hours now. They had left the grain fields behind and were now passing by pastures full of grazing cattle. 

“So, I’ve been thinking.”

Andrew made a humming noise in response to Nathaniel’s statement. He wasn’t the chatty type so Andrew assumed whatever he was thinking about was of relevance to their travel.

“About what I should tell people my name is wherever I end up.”

Or maybe it wasn’t. “Why?”

Nathaniel gave him an incredulous look. “Well I can’t very well walk up to people and be like ‘Hello I’m Nathaniel Wesninski’ unless I want to be ransomed back to my father.”

Andrew shook his head. “No, I mean why are you bothering me with this?”

“Oh.” Nathaniel looked a little dejected at Andrew’s question, but continued talking anyways, “because from now on I want you to call me Neil Josten, so I can get used to hearing it.”

Andrew stopped walking and stared at the back of his head. Was he serious right now? “Neil Josten. That’s the name you picked?”

“Yes,” he said looking exceedingly proud of himself.

“Neil as in Natha-Niel, like the ending of your actual name?”

“Yes,” he answered again, but in a warier tone.

“You’re actually an idiot aren’t you,” Andrew said then started walking again, right past a flabbergasted Nathaniel. No he had to think of him as Neil now. Even if Andrew thought it was a stupid name.

After Andrew had gotten a few steps past him Neil finally regained his senses and responded, “What no I’m not an idiot. It...it’s a good name. I’ve thought about this a lot.”

Andrew just made a disbelieving ‘mmm hmm’ noise and kept walking.

“It is.” He heard Neil running to catch up with him. “Seriously I put a lot of thought into it.” He caught up to Andrew and continued to defend his name choice, “For instance, If someone said they knew a guy named Drew that lived in Palmetto, nobody is going to automatically assume that it’s you. Even though Drew is part of Andrew. Same with Neil and Nathaniel.”

Andrew gave him a blank stare.

Neil carried on, “But I also need a name that is close enough to my actual name that I will answer to it. Wouldn’t it look weird if I picked a name that is so completely different that I never respond when people call me by it?”

These were fairly decent points. Clearly Neil really had been putting some thought into this. Andrew had to wonder just how often Neil thought about running away before, and why.

“And Josten is a commoners last name,” Neil added on.

“Maybe don’t refer to the vast majority of people as commoners and you will be set,” Andrew deadpanned.

“So you’ll do it?” Neil asked excitedly. “You will try and remember to call me Neil from now on?”

“Sure,” Andrew agreed. Although he didn’t know how much help he would be since he had never bothered to refer to him by name anyways.

Apparently satisfied with Andrew’s agreeance Neil lapsed back into walking silently. Andrew appreciated that about him, he wished his fellow knights were more like him. They had been intolerable in the beginning, with all their questions and invitations out to the tavern in Palmetto. Nicky had reveled in it, but Andrew had made it very clear to them that he did not give two shits about becoming their friend. 

He thought it was completely ridiculous that even though he hadn’t known Neil for that long Andrew found it easier to just be around him, than it was with him and most of the other Foxes. Andrew hardly ever let his guard down, but he could feel it dropping away the more time they spent together. He could almost imagine what life at the Foxhole Court could be like with someone he could be at ease with. As comfortable as he was around Renee and Bee, there was just something a little different about Neil.

But no that was a pipe dream and reality was Neil would bring them only trouble. The Wesninski’s would start a war with the Foxhole Kingdom in order to get him back. Even if Wymack might be willing to take in and stand up for any strays that found their way to the Foxhole, Andrew wasn’t. His priorities were keeping his family safe, and thinking about keeping Neil around went against that.

They would reach the Broad River, Andrew would go home, and Neil would keep travelling till he found himself a new home also. That would be the end of this.

-

Neil jerked awake to something painfully hitting him in his stomach. He bolted upright, scrambled for his sword, and searched for his attacker. His alertness dulled into confusion when all he saw was Andrew sitting against a tree staring impassively back at him. Andrew didn’t look like he was worried about them being under attack right then, but Neil knew he hadn’t dreamed the dull pain in his abdomen. He searched around himself for what could have caused it, and found a fist sized rock lying beside him. It definitely had not been there before, he looked back to Andrew. “Did you throw this rock at me?”

Andrew stood. “We need to go. It was time for you to wake up.”

Neil rubbed at his eyes and slumped back to the ground. “So you decided that throwing a rock at me was the best way to accomplish that?” He really didn’t understand why Andrew insisted on being a jerk sometimes.

“Keep complaining and the next time it will be my knife. Now get up.”

“You’re the worst,” he said in Andrew’s general direction not even bothering to lift his head off the ground.

“You’re a Wesninski, so that makes you the worst by default,” Andrew shot back.

“No I’m Neil Josten.” Neil double tapped his palms to his chest to emphasize his point. “And Neil comes from a nice family. Not one that cuts people apart one joint at a time, while also burning the wounds closed so they don’t bleed out before the torture is over.”

That got a reaction out of Andrew. Or at least what counted as a reaction by Andrew Minyard standards. It would have been barely noticeable to most people, but Neil had trained himself to notice minute facial expression. So he saw how Andrew’s eyes widened slightly and lips parted for a brief second before his mask was back in place.

Neil almost let himself smile at getting a reaction from Andrew, but schooled his features so Andrew wouldn’t know that had been the plan all along.

Andrew opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but in the next instance seemed to decide against it. He turned away from Neil and grabbed his satchel. “Grab your bag we’re leaving,” he said as he walked away, clearly done waiting for him.

Neil scrambled to his feet, shook the dirt from his cloak, and shouldered his bag. After he jogged to catch up with Andrew, he pulled an apple out knowing Andrew had probably eaten while he had been asleep. Neil had taken the first watch that night, and allowed Andrew to sleep a few hours before he woke him and they switched. He had been so exhausted that he passed out as soon as he laid his head on the ground.

They walked in silence while he finished his apple. Once he was done Andrew spoke up, “Speaking of Wesninski torture tactics, where are you people getting your information on the Foxhole Court from?”

Neil scowled at him. He knew Andrew was goading him, but he wished he wouldn’t lump him in with the likes of his father and Lola. As for the information. “The Wesninskis didn’t gather that information Riko did.”

Apparently that didn’t answer Andrew’s question enough for him to even bother responding so Neil continued, “After Kevin ran and Riko learned he was taking refuge at the Foxhole Court, he had all the information he could dragged up about you guys.”

“So what, Riko found people to talk about our pasts. That isn’t the part that matters to me. I want to know how he is getting the information about our lives at the Foxhole?”

“Like what kind of information?” Neil asked him. 

“How you knew Renee was our acting cleric, or how you knew I was the only person who traveled with Kevin outside of Palmetto?” 

Andrew sounded exasperated. Neil didn’t understand why this was worrying him so much. From what he had heard most of the Foxes had come from bad situations, but ended up having much better lives now at the Foxhole Court. So why would Andrew care about that information getting out, Neil thought they should be proud of the lives they lived now. In the end it didn’t matter if he understood or not, just that he took Andrew’s worry seriously. “He pays a guy who works at the tavern you all frequent in Palmetto for the information.”

Andrew went rigid at his words. When Neil looked back at his face he saw barely concealed fury. “What is his name?” Andrew asked through clenched teeth.

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. Neil had seen Andrew get angry before, but whatever was upsetting him right now was much worse. Neil felt completely useless, but Riko had never mentioned his informant’s name.

“Do you know anything about him?” Andrew bit out.

Neil tried to recall anything that would be helpful, “Riko said he works at the tavern in Palmetto. Apparently most of the foxes enjoy drinking quite a bit, and it loosens their tongues. So his informant just has to sit and wait for you guys to spill your own secrets. Also Riko bragged about how he doesn’t have to worry about you guys ever suspecting his informant because nobody would ever look twice at him.”

Andrew seemed to relax slightly. “Anything else?”

“I think he pays him in coin sometimes, but mostly he pays him in premium alcohol. Oh!” Neil exclaimed. He had just remembered something important. “This guy cleans up around the tavern and he originally took the job in hopes of having access to more alcohol.”

Andrew’s body relaxed some more, and he closed his eyes in deep thought. When he opened them again he asked, “Is it possible he is an elderly man?”

Neil thought for a moment then nodded his head in agreement. “Yes, it’s possible. Riko always had to send someone in to meet him, because he couldn’t travel.”

Andrew nodded once at the information and turned to continue walking. Neil followed him and they walked on in silence. As they walked Neil could tell there was something else on Andrew’s mind, by the way he kept clenching his hands open and closed. He must have been debating with himself about whether or not he wanted to bring it up to Neil. In the end Andrew’s own curiosity won out. “What other information do you know?”

“You mean about you specifically or the Foxes in general?” Neil asked in return.

“Either,” Andrew answered.

“Hmm, Well I know about the Foxes pasts and quite a bit about your lives at the Foxhole Court. Honestly I probably know a lot more than you are comfortable with me knowing.” Neil had never and would never get to witness it in person, but he could tell by how defensive Andrew got when he talked about the other Foxes that he was very protective of them.

Andrew sent him a glowering glance before asking, “And what about me?”

Just like with the other Foxes Neil knew quite a bit about Andrew’s past. For some reason the thought of disclosing all of the information he knew about Andrew to Andrew made his face flush. 

There was so much he didn’t know exactly where to start, then decided the easiest would be the beginning. “You were born in the Moriyama Kingdom and orphaned at birth. Raised in a group home and like many other orphaned children when you were old enough you were bought by a wealthy family as an indentured servant.” Neil stopped and looked over at Andrew to gauge his reaction.

His face was carefully blank, and when he noticed Neil looking at him he twirled his hand around in a go on gesture. So Neil did. “You apparently caused a lot of trouble and were sold back and forth between the group home and other wealthy families for a number of years. Then around the time you became a teen you were sold to a family and stayed there for a few years, it was the longest you stayed in one spot. But then you had another incident and were kicked out of that house also.”

Neil stopped and thought for a moment before continuing, “They couldn’t get information on how it had happened, but within the next few months you had moved to a different town and were living with your birth mother and brother. You became a member of the city guard for a few years after that. That’s where Wymack took notice of you and brought you, Aaron, and Nicky back with him to the Foxhole Kingdom.”

Once Neil had finished he searched Andrew’s face again. There was still no reaction, but he did give a single nod as if in confirmation of Neil’s story being true enough.

They walked silently for a few yards before Andrew asked, “Why did Riko feel the need to give you all of the information he found?”

“It wasn’t just to me,” he told Andrew quickly. He didn’t want Andrew thinking of him as some kind of close confidant of Riko Moriyamas. “Riko bragged to all the knights that trained under him and Tetsuji about how easy it was for him to get the information about you guys past, because he was the great Lord Kengo’s son.”

Andrew nodded, but didn’t respond. Neil was content to let the subject of Riko, the Moriyamas and his family drop at first, but after walking for a while in silence his own curiosity got the best of him. He asked, “So what have you heard about me, aside from Kevin’s praise about my skill with a sword?” He knew he was smirking he could feel the usually unfamiliar expression pulling at his face. He couldn’t help it though, thinking about Kevin praising anyone was just so funny.

Andrew choose to ignore the second part and only answered the first, “About you personally not much. About the Wesninskis as a whole, plenty.”

He had never heard an outsider’s opinion on his father’s kingdom, and was curious as to what people had heard. When Andrew wasn’t forthcoming with any more information Neil asked, “What kind of things?”

Andrew cast him a quick glance sideways before answering, “I’ve heard about the way your father taxes the kingdoms he conquers into near poverty. About how young boys are forced into becoming knights just to create a dispensable army. Also a few rumors about how they torture people who speak out against them. Though your comment earlier makes he think they aren’t rumors.”

Neil nodded his head solemnly none of this information was new to him. His father had even brought him along to witness some of his cruelty first hand. “Those are all true. My father, my grandfather, and even his father believed that if you keep the people weakened they will be less likely to rise up, and if anyone tried they were dealt with quickly.”

Andrew looked at him assessingly. “And what do you think? You were supposed to be the next Lord Wesninski in this line of horrificness after all.”

What did Neil think of the way his father ruled? Honestly he had been too busy spending the majority of his life trying to avoid his father’s notice to worry about anyone else. He had never possessed some kind of hero mentality to rise up and save the masses from his father. The one and only time he had ever questioned his father about why they needed to keep fighting and conquering other kingdoms, his father had backhanded him so hard he stumbled across the floor and fell. When he opened his eyes his father had been looming over him, he then placed his large hand on Nathaniel’s small chest and pressed down till he felt like his lungs were going to pop. All the while his father told him to never question him, and how it was their duty to expand the glorious Wesninski Kingdom. 

So even though he didn’t agree with the way people were treated in the kingdom, he knew that his father would rather kill him than allow Neil to try and change things. He sighed and caught Andrew casting him a sidelong glance still waiting for his answer. So he gave him the most truthful response he could, “I just don’t want to be a part of it anymore.”

-

Lola stood inside the castle entry hall. She had just received word from a messenger that Lord Wesninski’s carriage would be arriving any moment now. It had been nearly two days since Nathaniel and the Fox Knight had gone missing. 

It had been bad enough that the Fox Knight captive had somehow overpowered the Moriyama Knight and escaped, but everything had gone from bad to worse when they found Nathaniel missing from his chambers the next morning also. Lola had gathered a few of the most trusted knights including her brother and Jackson, and had them conduct a quiet search of the castle grounds for Nathaniel. They didn’t need word spreading that the Wesninski Heir was missing. 

When a thorough search for both the prisoner and Nathaniel turned up nothing she sent a messenger to inform Lord Wesninski of the situation. His reply had been swift, he would hasten his return to the castle in order to arrive before the Moriyama’s delegation.

The sounds of horse hooves galloping up the gravel path alerted her to his arrival. A few short moments later the castle doors slammed open. “Have you found him?”

Lola tried to not recoil at the fury she saw on etched on Nathan’s face. “Not yet My Lord, but knights have been sent out to every nearby town and village to search.”

He stormed up to her. He wasn’t a physically imposing man like his personal knight guard DiMaccio, but anyone that knew him knew that when Nathan was this furious it was in their best interest to stay out of reach. “And did you tell them that it was my son they were looking for?”

“No. Most have been told to be on the lookout for the prisoner and another young man, and to bring them in alive if found. Only a few of the most loyal knights know that the other boy is Nathaniel.”

Nathan’s fury simmered down into an eerie calmness. “I want you to tell me how you are going to explain all of this to the Moriyama’s when they arrive tomorrow?”

His wording made it clear to her that he was putting all the blame for this perceived slight against the Moriyama’s on her. She tried her best to defend herself, “It was their own knight who allowed the prisoner to escape, he entered the cell with a weapon and left the inner gate unlocked.”

Nathan shook his head. “Riko will not care.”

“Not to overstep My Lord, but why do we care about disappointing Riko Moriyama? He is of no importance to the kingdom.” She didn’t understand why Nathan would be troubled over Riko, since she knew that Lord Kengo didn’t care for him or his need to get back Kevin Day. Promising the Fox Knight they had captured to him was only done as a courtesy to the alliance between the two kingdoms.

“That is true, but word will get back to Ichirou and Lord Kengo that a prisoner was allowed to escape from inside of my castle. It shows weakness and incompetence, and we do not need the Moriyama’s to believe we are either of those things. Especially right now with Lord Kengo on his deathbed and Ichirou poised to take over. I cannot be certain that he will be as tolerant to our alliance as his father.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Sir, you cannot truly believe that Ichirou will want to begin a war with us? Our kingdom is comparable in size to his own. It would be mad for him to think he could overtake us.”

“Ichirou has helped his father to expand their kingdom as far as they can go north and west into the mountains. Yet I can see it in his eyes that he is hungry to grow the kingdom under his own name. That only leaves the allied kingdoms to the east and our kingdom to the south.”

“Why do you think he would choose to break our alliance and invade our borders instead of attacking the smaller allied kingdoms?” If it was her decision she knew which decision she would make.

“I believe Ichirou will use the unrest of our own people to his advantage. An invasion by the Moriyamas from the north could cause our own vassals to rise up, knowing it would be their best shot to free themselves.”

Lola didn’t know what to make of all this. She knew it was all conjecture right now, but Lord Wesninski had only captured so many kingdoms because he always thought of all possibilities and had plans ready for them. “So what do we do now?”

“For now unless the Fox Knight is found tonight Riko will have to be disappointed. I have a plan in mind for how to preemptively deal with Ichirou, but we need to find Nathaniel for it to work.”

Nathan had already begun to walk away but Lola had to ask the obvious, “And if he is already dead?”

Nathan cast her a cold glare. “Why would he be dead?”

“If the Fox Knight forced him to help him escape, I don’t see why he would let him live for very much longer.”

Nathan gave her a considering look before asking, “Have you ever seen Nathaniel practice with his sword?”

His question caught her off guard, but she still answered, “Of course. It’s all he ever spends his time doing.”

“Then how could you think that a weakened prisoner could force someone with Nathaniel’s capabilities into helping him escape?”

A lot had not added up about that night, but if what Nathan was implying was true everything would make sense. “You believe that Nathaniel helped the prisoner escape?”

“I thought he would be too spineless to attempt it again after him and his mother failed.” He turned to back to her, and she was faced with the full extent of his rage. “But you allowed him access to the Fox Knight and he found someone else he could lean on. Now go find my wayward son, before I start to regret ever leaving you in charge.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter in the archive. This was so dialogue heavy, I swear I wrote and rewrote the same lines over and over.
> 
> I find dialogue heavy chapters hard, because they just don't seem to flow as well. I reread this a bunch and it felt pretty good to me though.
> 
> So I changed his name. Yeah, he is Neil Josten finally. I was so tired of writing out Nathaniel. I really hope that part makes sense to everyone, of course as the writer I know what's going on. I just hope it comes across clearly to everyone. If you ever have question feel plenty free to ask me.
> 
> Moving on have you guys ever seen Arrested Development? Anyways in the first season Netflix made there a scene between Will arnett's character Gob and Ben Stiller's character Tony Wonder. They are sitting there talking to each other and they are like 'I think I have feelings for you' Then it cuts to the narrator and he is like they did have feelings for each other. That feeling was friendship, but neither of them had experienced it before. Lol That describes Neil in all of the AFTG books.  
> Also Andrew during this chapter.......JK  
> He is definitely going through something internally
> 
> Okay back to the chapter. Did yall guess why Andrew freaked out so bad when Neil told him a guy who works at the bar was spilling their secrets. Take a guess then message me. <3
> 
> Last of all I wanted to describe the difference between when I call someone a knight vs. when I say andrew was a city guard. So the knights are more like classical knights usually more privileged young men who train and are in service to the lord. The city guards are more like patrol officers who are paid by the town to protect it citizens.  
> Of course in the Wesninski Kingdom things are different. they have more of a draft enforced to keep the conquered towns, cities, villages weakened. They then train them more like as a standing army.  
> So historically during the time of knights and kingdoms there did come a time where they had to switch more from a few highly trained knights protecting the kingdom. to the use of less trained, but more bodies of a standing army. This was due to the influence of gunpowder and muskets. So I incorporated this in my own way. Cause the Wesninski's are d-bags.
> 
> Thanks for reading, commenting, and leaving kudos.  
> You guys are awesome!!!!  
> <3


	7. Chapter 7

They had been travelling for four days now. After that first day of being guided by the fields of golden grain and pastures of slow grazing cattle, they had been stuck traveling in the middle of the forest. Without the luxury of a stream or tree line to follow they had to rely on the path of the sun, which meant their heading wasn’t always exactly precise. They would start each morning heading away from the rising sun and end each day walking towards the sunset, but when the sun was overhead they did their best to stay walking in a straight line. Neil told Andrew that as long as they stayed headed in a generally westward direction they would reach the Broad River, then once they did he would determine where they needed to go from there.

As they travelled sometimes they would walk in an easy silence, but other times the monotony of their days would become too intense and they would continue their game of questions. Andrew learned that Neil really did know the basic stories of what had led each Fox to leave their previous life and join the Foxhole Court.

When Neil talked about the Foxes there was almost a reverence in his voice, and anytime he asked a question about the Foxhole he sounded wistful. Andrew didn’t even think he was aware of it. Riko might have been the one that gathered the information on them, but it was clear that Neil had become a little obsessed with learning as much about them as possible also. Andrew wasn’t sure if it was because of his connection with Kevin, or if something else was driving his fascination. 

Of course since they both knew Kevin personally they ended up talking about him the most. In the two years Kevin had spent at the Foxhole Court he had mentioned that Neil had come and trained, but Andrew was learning from Neil that he had spent a lot more time in the Moriyama Kingdom than Kevin let on. Neil had been going to train with Kevin and Riko for the past fourteen years and each sojourn had lasted for at least a week and up to a month. The first time he’d gone he had been five years old, Riko and Kevin were seven, and they were the only three who trained under Tetsuji at the time.

During the times they trained when they were young they were only allowed to use wooden practice swords, and mistakes were quickly punished by a stinging smack from Tetsuji’s cane. As they got older more children were brought in to train as pages and squires also. These children would go on to make up the force of young knights Riko was now in charge of called The Ravens.

With more students to train Riko and Kevin also took on more of leadership positions. Andrew learned that Kevin apparently acted no different then as he did now. He expected everyone to perform at their best, and if you weren’t meeting his standards he would try to yell you into doing better. Andrew had to wonder if his methods got better results with the young Moriyama Knights than they did with the Foxes. Because anytime Kevin started acting too haughty the Foxes would just walk away, they had found it was the best way to piss him off.

Though Neil had talked openly about Kevin, anytime Riko was brought up he became much more reserved with his answers. Andrew knew from what Riko had done to Kevin and from other stories just how much of a bastard he was, but he still found himself curious as to what was causing this kind of reaction from Neil. Andrew eventually grew tired of hearing Neil skirt around the subject and finally flat out asked him what Riko had done to him.

Neil had let out an unhappy sigh at his question, but still proceeded to tell Andrew everything.

He started by confirming some things that Andrew already knew like how Riko had followed after Tetsuji and liked to physically punish people for their mistakes. Some of the students got off rather easy, but others Riko seemed to relish in enacting the cruelest punishments against. They were usually whoever Riko had some kind of personal animosity towards. Like Kevin if was ever praised more than Riko, or a newer knight named Jean Moreau who had been handed over to the Moriyamas as tribute from their most recently conquered kingdom.

Neil had also been on Riko’s shit list.

Apparently Neil being the only son and heir of a lord was too much for Riko to forgive. Riko had started his systematic abuse of Neil that first visit. Back then he had used the wooden sword on him covering his arms and legs with bruises. As time progressed though Riko moved on from beating him black and blue to using knives on him. Cutting his contempt for Neil’s audacity of just being alive into his skin. 

Neil hadn’t gone into any great detail, but he didn’t really need to either. Andrew got the picture. He already knew that Riko was a sadistic asshole, and he was on Andrew’s list of people he would kill if he ever got the chance. But having to listen to Neil talk about him in a hushed and broken tone made Andrew want to say screw off to his common sense and storm the Moriyama Kingdom himself. Then he could pay Riko back tenfold for everything he had done to Neil and Kevin.

Of course that would be suicidal, and no matter how shitty Andrew’s own life had been he had never actively sought out death. So he pushed his anger deep down inside. 

Once it was in check he asked Neil why his father allowed some brat from another kingdom to abuse him in that way. An odd series of emotions had crossed over Neil’s face at the question. He had tried his best to mask them all, but didn’t quite accomplish it as he answered that his father just didn’t care.

His voice had been scornful yet also resigned, and it made Andrew wonder if that was the reason Neil was running away. His father hadn’t protected him and allowed him to suffer. And for what? To keep from offending the Moriyamas so their alliance stayed strong. Whatever the reason it was clear that Neil was tired of having to live with Riko’s abuse.

Their conversation about Riko had all happened the day before, and after Neil had sufficiently answered Andrew’s questions he had been despondent for the rest of the day. This morning after they had packed up and headed out it was clear to Andrew that Neil was still withdrawn into himself. He could imagine that Neil was stuck reliving past traumas, and probably even had nightmares about them that night.

Andrew didn’t need to be travelling with someone who was disconsolate and distracted. He needed Neil out of his own head, so he asked a few well-placed questions about his favorite subject sword training. With each question Neil had grown more exuberant with his answers, until he was back to acting like his normal self again.

The only flaw in his plan was that now as they walked, Andrew was stuck listening to Neil drone on about modern sword techniques. Which had been created by Kevin’s mother Kayleigh Day and Tetsuji Moriyama. Even though he knew he had brought this on himself he was starting to become more and more irritated, especially when he realized that he had heard a near identical speech from Kevin before.

Andrew was about to ask Neil if he could talk about anything else when a flash out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He whipped his head around to look, studied the trees closely, but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Andrew’s abrupt movement had caused Neil to stop talking and look around also. When he turned back to Andrew he gave a small shrug and kept walking.

There had been many times when one of them had noticed a quick movement or something that had caught their attention. It had always turned out to be a bird, rabbit, deer, or even just sunlight and shadows tricking their eyes.

They walked a few more steps in silence before another blur of movement caught both of their attention. Again when Andrew looked more intently at the forest he saw nothing which could have caused the movement. Something felt off though. Neil must have noticed it too, because he stepped up and motioned for Andrew to stay quiet. Neil silently dropped his satchel to the ground, unclasped his cloak, then let it drop also. He pointed out with his hand to indicate he was going to go check out the area.

Andrew watched Neil stalk soundlessly through the trees to look around for what had moved. It was probably just another animal, but since they were being searched for they needed to be extra cautious. When Neil didn’t find anything in their immediate surroundings he motioned to Andrew that he was going to search further out. Andrew nodded and watched Neil disappear between a copse of trees.

He waited, listening and staring in the direction Neil had gone in. He knew it was a necessary precaution that he check out their surroundings, but that didn’t stop the dread Andrew felt in his chest at having Neil out of his sight.

A twig being snapped behind him made him whip around and pull a knife from his armband.

He searched the trees and saw nothing, but that didn’t stop his heart from picking up in rhythm. Andrew stayed perfectly still and listened for any other sound, but didn’t hear anything else out of the ordinary.

After a few minutes of scanning the trees Andrew convinced himself it had been nothing, and turned back to look in the direction Neil had gone. As soon as he did the hairs on the back of his neck raised up. He felt like he was being watched from behind. He cast a quick glance over his shoulder and still saw nothing.

His mind was playing tricks on him. After all they were in the middle of a forest, what was the likelihood that some Wesninski Knights would happen across them here. He told himself that Neil was going to come walking out of the woods, tell Andrew it had just been a rabbit or something, and they would continue on. That his feeling of being watched was just a fear induced panic.

Despite repeating this to himself he still felt the need to drop his own satchel and cloak to the ground, and hold his knife up at the ready.

After a few more minutes of nothing else happening except for him becoming increasingly more unnerved, Neil came running out of the woods. Andrew felt himself relax some at seeing Neil alone and unharmed.

That was until he got a better look at his face. Unlike the calm expression Andrew had been hoping for, Neil looked distressed.

When Neil was about twenty feet from him something behind Andrew caught his eye, they went wide in terror, and he yelled, “Andrew get down.”

Andrew immediately dropped and rolled across the ground just as an arrow sailed over his head and imbedded into a tree. He quickly shot back to his feet and looked up in the direction the arrow had come from. An archer had appeared from behind a thicket and was now hurrying to notch another arrow.

From his position Andrew had a clear path to him, so he threw the knife in his hand with as much force as he could. The archer dropped the arrow and ducked behind a tree to avoid being skewered by Andrew’s blade. Andrew took advantage of the knight’s distraction and charged at him, while pulling another knife free. By the time the knight saw Andrew coming he didn’t have time to notch another arrow or pull another weapon out. His only form of defense was the bow in his hands, which he swung out at Andrew with all of his might.

This had been exactly what Andrew wanted him to do. Andrew took the hit to his chest which knocked the breath out of him and would leave a nasty bruise, but at the same time swiped up with his knife and cut the bow string. The force from the blow pushed him backwards, he stumbled a bit, but was able to catch himself against a tree.

The knight angrily tossed the now useless bow aside and unsheathed his sword. Andrew hurriedly pushed himself upright and took up a defensive position waiting for the knight to attack again.

The knight didn’t make a move to attack though, instead he glanced at something behind Andrew before returning his gaze back to him and saying, “You are both surrounded. Give up now and there will be no reason for more bloodshed.”

Andrew was just about to tell the knight to go to hell when Neil answer from somewhere behind him instead, “We’re not going back.”

Another voice coming from the same direction as Neil’s said, “Nathaniel we don’t want to have to use force on you. If you come back your father is willing to overlook this lapse in your judgement.”

“Bullshit,” Neil bit out. Voice laced with loathing.

Andrew didn’t want to take his eyes off the knight in front of him, but he needed to know what kind of situation was happening behind him. So he risked a quick glance backwards and saw Neil standing about ten feet away, back towards Andrew, facing off against another knight. Both had their swords poised to strike out, and both were also already sporting injuries. Neil had a bleeding cut across the center of his back, and the Wesninski Knight had one on his right shoulder. There were no other knights in sight. Of course there could be more lying in wait, but Andrew’s gut told him they were only dealing with these two.

Andrew whipped his head back when the knight in front of him spoke again, “It’s true Nathaniel. If you help us bring in this prisoner your father will forgive you.”

The other knight added, “Plus Lola told us to tell you that she promises you won’t be sent for sword training with the Moriyamas anymore.”

Andrew felt his heart stop at the words. Wasn’t that why Neil had run in the first place. He had been fed up with having to endure abuse at Riko’s hands, which his father had never bothered to protect him from. If he was willing to do that now, would Neil take the offer? After all what was Andrew, a person he had only known for three weeks compared to the life he had always had and could continue living.

Neil was quiet for a moment before asking, “And what would happen to Andrew?”

The knight glared distastefully at Andrew as he answered, “This prisoner will be brought back to the dungeon and handed over to the Moriyamas just like was intended.”

“No,” Neil interjected. “Andrew should be allowed to return to the Foxhole Kingdom.”

“This hedge-born killed three Wesninski Knights. He has to pay for his crimes,” The knight closest to Neil said.

“How is being handed over to Riko him paying for crimes committed against the Wesninski Kingdom?” Neil asked of him.

“I do not presume to question your father’s or Lola’s decisions, and neither should you,” the knight answered. “Now hand him over and come with us.”

Neil didn’t respond, but Andrew could hear movement behind him. He glanced back over his shoulder to find Neil walking towards him, face set in grim determination. If Andrew’s heart had felt like it stopped before, it now felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest.

Andrew didn’t know what to do. He was torn between not wanting to turn his back completely to the Wesninski Knight, but also not wanting to allow Neil to approach him from behind. Since they had escaped the castle, he hadn’t even believed Neil betraying him could be a possibility. He should have known that given the option between getting to live a better life at home and Andrew’s freedom, nobody would pick Andrew.

Nobody ever had ever made the hard choice for him before, why should Neil be any different. Andrew thought he had resigned himself to that fact years ago, yet it still hurt him to think that Neil could be making that same decision now.

Andrew was stuck watching Neil getting closer over his shoulder needing to know what he was going to do, yet not being able to bring himself to turn fully away from the other knight. When Neil got about a foot or so away from Andrew he stopped. He didn’t say anything, just studied Andrew’s face for a few seconds before turning his back to him.

Neil stood facing away from Andrew, raised his sword and said, “I already gave you my answer. We’re not going back.”

Andrew stared uncomprehendingly at Neil’s back. He had just been offered his old life back free from Riko’s abuse, and yet he was choosing to fight with Andrew. Not only that, he was choosing to put his trust in Andrew to keep his back safe. If he had planned on fighting he should have moved to a more strategic location where he could easily face both knights. 

Andrew didn’t understand why Neil would make the choice to fight for him when no one else had, but he wasn’t going to question it now.

Now the choice was Andrew’s. Stay where he was and trust in Neil to keep him safe also, or move to a position that would allow him to easily face both the knights. Really it was no choice at all. He turned his head back to face the knight, and took a small step backwards to close the distance between them.

The knight Neil was facing scoffed, “Really Nathaniel you’re choosing this low-bred knight over your kingdom? Over your family?”

Andrew could feel Neil stiffen slightly behind him as he answered, “You people are not my family. As far as I’m concerned the only family that ever gave a damn for me died nine years ago.”

“Your father will be sad to hear that,” the knight said in mock disappointment. Then added in a taunting tone, “As will Lola. She did help raise you after all, remember all the games you played together when you were younger?”

“Fuck you,” Neil spat.

“You’re going to be sorry you made this more difficult on yourself Nathaniel,” the knight in front of Andrew said.

“Actually, I don’t think we will have to worry about this being difficult,” Neil replied scornfully.

“Oh, and why is that?” The knight asked.

“Because you two incompetent flunkies are the ones that found us, and the only thing you have been any good at wielding lately is a bottle so you can drown out your own inferiority,” Neil sneered.

Andrew heard the knight behind him snarl out a curse at Neil’s taunt and begin to charge. He tensed with the knowledge that an enemy was coming towards him from behind, but forced himself not to turn away from the knight in front of him. He had made the choice to trust Neil to protect his back, and he was going to see it through or die in the process.

The knight in front of him continued to hold his ground, eyes flicking between Andrew and Neil and the other knight. Then when Andrew heard the sound of two swords clashing together behind him the knight leapt into action. 

As he ran towards him, Andrew pulled out another of his knives and raised them to block his attack. The knight drew his sword back and slashed down at Andrew, which he parried with his knives. The knight slashed out again and again at Andrew, and each time he blocked him easily.

He was starting to believe Neil might have been right about this being an easy fight. The knight was swinging his sword around like he wasn’t use to the weight of it. It was making his movement’s slow, causing major openings in his defense.

Once Andrew had a sense for how the knight fought he took full advantage of an opening, He dropped low, then sprung forward inside of the knights sword reach, and plunged one of his knives deep into his abdomen. 

The knight’s eyes went wide in horror when he realized what had happened. He let go of his sword with one of his hands and staggered back pulling at the knife. While he clumsily grabbed at the blood slicked knife, Andrew pulled another free from his armbands and waited. After the knight pulled the knife from his gut, he tossed it off to the side, and raised his sword again. 

Blood was pouring from the knight’s wound and Andrew knew he wouldn’t be able to stay on his feet for long. Still he didn’t want to end this fight quickly. This knight had pissed him off, and he was itching to release some more of his pent up anger on him. So he cocked his head to the side tauntingly, and gestured with both hands for the knight to come at him.

The knight became infuriated by Andrew’s taunt. He leapt back at Andrew swinging his sword wildly. Andrew didn’t even try to attack again, just easily deflected each blow and let the knight kill himself slowly by bleeding to death faster with his erratic movements.

As the fight went on the knight grew more and more pale and his movements slowed. When the knight staggered sideways on his feet Andrew knew the end was near. At this point it wouldn’t take much to finish the knight off, so he drew his arm back and punched the knight as hard as he could square in the face. The knight went down hard, landing in a shallow pool of his own blood. He didn’t get back up again.

The whole time Andrew had been fighting he heard the clashing of swords behind him, and also Neil viciously jeering at the knight he was fighting. Now Andrew realized that it had gone completely silent. Not hearing Neil’s voice any longer caused him to fear the worst, and he quickly turned around to see what had transpired.

Andrew could do nothing to stop the surge of relief he felt at seeing Neil standing a few feet behind him, quietly wiping blood from his sword. On the ground in front of him was the knight he had been fighting, but now with a gaping bloodied hole in his chest. 

Once Neil had gotten most of the blood off of his sword he sheathed it then turned to face Andrew. “We need to get away from here, just in case they weren’t the only ones searching this area.”

Andrew nodded his head in silent agreement. Then turned to go and find the knife he had thrown earlier. Once he found it, he grabbed his cloak and bag, and followed Neil away from the knight’s bodies.

They ran for quite some time, only taking breaks to listen for any sounds of pursuers. When they reached a small stream Neil stopped. He dropped to his knees beside it, and began to gulp down handfuls of the water. Andrew didn’t think he could stay upright any longer, and collapsed to the ground.

After a few minutes of laying on his back trying to get his breathing back under control, he turned his head to the side and saw Neil was now leaning over the stream filling his waterskin. His back was to Andrew and he could see a dark wet spot had formed on his cloak. In all their hastening to get away he had forgotten about Neil’s injury.

Andrew rolled onto his side and used his hand to push himself up. They needed to tend to Neil’s back, he could hardly believe Neil had run that whole way while sporting such an injury. Though when Andrew looked over at Neil again his mind blanked.

Neil had poured some water over his head, and was currently running his fingers through his wet hair. His face was upturned, and the water had run from his hair, down his cheeks, and was now making slow tantalizing paths down the long column of his neck.

Andrew had to clench his fist tightly at his sides to keep himself from reaching out and touching Neil. Though he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do more replace Neil’s hands in his hair with his own, trace the water paths down his neck with his fingers, or simply push Neil into the stream and be done with this fantasy.

Since none of those things were an option for him, he shook his head to clear his thoughts, and tried to remember what he needed to do. He focused his eyes on the wet spot on Neil’s cloak where his blood was seeping, and said, “While we’re stopped we should take care of your injury.”

Neil jolted a little having been caught off guard, but then stilled completely. He slowly lowered his hands and shook his head. “I’m fine. I’ll deal with it later.”

“How exactly will you do that?” Andrew asked. The cut was right in the center of his back, there was no way he could reach it himself.

Neil continued to adamantly shake his head. “It doesn’t matter. We need to keep going.”

“No, we should clean the cut on your back while we have water nearby,” Andrew argued back.

Neil crossed his arms over his chest defensively and said, “It’s was a shallow cut anyways, we don’t need to waste time worrying about it.”

“Your tunic is dirty. So it doesn’t matter how shallow the wound is, it will still get infected.” Andrew did not understand why they were having this argument. He was positive they had not been followed. It was more important right now to use the running stream water to clean Neil’s cut, than putting a few more hundred yards between them and the place they had been ambushed was.

Neil stood and shifted around uncomfortable refusing to meet Andrew’s harsh gaze. He seemed to be having an internal struggle with himself. Finally after a few more moments of fidgeting around he said, “Fine you can check out the wound, but know that…” He trailed off and gestured vaguely at himself before continuing again, “this isn’t good.”

Andrew had honestly no idea what that meant, he hated it when Neil said cryptic things. His best guess was that Neil was referring to the injuries he had sustained from Riko, but that didn’t matter right now. There was no reason he should be more worried about Andrew seeing his scars over dying from an infected wound. Besides Andrew had seen some pretty bad scars left from injuries before, he was a knight after all.

Andrew stayed silent and stared blankly at Neil until he finally unclasped his cloak and let it drop to the ground. After that was off he slowly reached down, pulled his tunic over his head, and let it drop also. When he reached down again to do the same with his undershirt Andrew noticed that his hands were shaking. He grasped the bottom of the shirt and lifted it about an inch before his hands began to shake too badly and he had to stop. He took a deep steading breath and pulled the shirt quickly over his head.

Andrew’s mind went blank again, but this time from shock instead of awe. His eyes fixed on Neil’s torso and the myriad of scars that covered it. It was a countless number that all crisscrossed over each other. There were so many that Andrew wasn’t sure he would be able to find a square inch that was unmarred.

Most of the scars were from Neil’s skin being flayed open, but there were a few others that weren’t. There was an odd shaped burn, a small line of puckered flesh near his collarbone, and a smattering of shapeless pale skin across his abdomen.

Andrew had to fight hard to keep his face impassive. Since Neil had been searching his expression intently this whole time trying to gauge his reaction, and Andrew was determined not to give him one. He didn’t know how his reaction to all of this would affect Neil, and Andrew didn’t want to be the cause of anymore hurt.

When he felt like he could finally say something without his voice betraying the all-encompassing rage he felt at whoever had hurt Neil in this way he said, “Turn around.”

Neil did, and Andrew had to bite the inside of is cheek to keep himself from growling out his frustration when he saw that his back was also filled with more of the same crisscrossed scars. 

He had to take back his thought about how whatever Neil didn’t want him to see didn’t matter. This certainly mattered, and was clearly beyond anything Neil had alluded to suffering through in the Moriyama Kingdom. Which meant Neil was obviously running from more than one monster in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my family came to visit for four days and I didn't have any time to write the whole time. It was good that I mostly had this whole chapter written beforehand and only had to do some editing for it.
> 
> Also life update - I just got a new job, so I might not be able to post as frequently as I have been.
> 
> Before I started writing this chapter I thought it would be it and the next chapter combined. Then I decided to split them up, so I thought this chapter might be a little short. Then as I wrote it I realized that it was going to be just as long as all the other ones. Good thing I decided to split them.
> 
> So this is kinda a cliffhanger maybe. I think it's the first time i've ended a chapter in the middle of something important happening at least.  
> The next chapter will be Neil POV only.
> 
> I have had my outline written out since pretty early on. I just went through and estimated how many chapters I think this is going to end up being and got to 17 plus and epilogue. Of course that number is not definite and could increase.
> 
> Thanks for reading, commenting, and leaving kudos.  
> <3


	8. Chapter 8

“This can’t all be from Riko. Who else did this to you?”

Neil knew Andrew had spoken, but he couldn’t understand the words. He couldn’t even begin to process anything apart from how fucked he was.

While they had fled the sight where they were ambushed he had been too focused on keeping a westward heading and scanning their surroundings for signs of pursuers to think about anything else. Then when they had stopped he hadn’t been able to think past his own exhaustion and his dire need for water. But now that he was standing with his scars exposed he felt like each one had been reopened and everything he’d been trying to keep bottled up was bleeding out.

They had been tracked down.

His father’s knights had somehow found them, even while travelling in the middle of a large forest. And if it happened once, it could happen again. The next time though they might not get so lucky. He could be captured and returned to his father, just like before.

If he was caught and returned, what would his father do to him this time? Neil knew his father had never cared about him, he was only a means to an end. His father needed him as his heir, but Neil knew he could never fulfil that role after actively betraying his own kingdom. Which Neil had done by choosing Andrew’s safety over it. Although the knights were probably right when they told him his father would have swept that under the rug and called it a lapse in his judgement. But killing a knight and aiding in the death of another was something he could never come back from.

He could never become the next Wesninski lord, which meant he couldn’t serve the one purpose his father kept him alive for. If he was caught he would face the full force of his father’s wrath for what he had done. Neil’s brain unhelpfully began to recall images upon images of a countless number of men and women he had witnessed being tortured by his father. He could remember and would always be haunted by their screams as they were slowly cut apart. Could still see the pools of their blood when he closed his eyes. Could still smell the putrid stench of rotting flesh wafting up from prisoners who had been left in the dungeons. Could still hear the way Lola cackled at their agony, like it was all a game.

Except now it would be him in their place, chained to a wall or held to the floor by his father’s giant bodyguard Dimaccio. His screams would echo through the castle, his blood would pool on the floor, his body would rot in the dungeon.

“Neil.”

It would start with his father using his favored clever on him, first cutting at his ankles and knees so that he could never run away again.

“Neil.”

After his father was through with his legs, he would take his time carving Neil’s flesh from him piece by piece. Taking enough to cause him excruciating pain each time, but not so much that he would bleed to death too quickly.

“Neil.”

His father would even let Lola have a turn too. She would lean too close and her hot breath would fan against his ear as she whispered to him the horrible ways she was going to slice his skin to ribbons.

“Neil.”

A hand grabbed his arm, and his whole body shuttered at the contact. It was too late he had been found. He could see Lola’s cruel smile and the look of deep disappointment and hatred etched onto his father’s face. They were here and they were going to tear him apart.

Everything grew darker and darker, until it threatened to consume him whole.

“Neil.” 

The hand let go of his arm and gripped the back of his neck instead. He was tugged forward and a voice growled out, “Stop it.”

Neil heard the command in the voice, but he couldn’t stop. He was drowning in darkness. The only thing keeping him from going completely under was the bruising grip on the back of his neck. Yet it wasn’t enough to pull him back up.

“Focus on my voice.” The voice demanded of him again. Neil noted that the voice was deep so it couldn’t be Lola’s, and it had a rougher edge to it than his father’s did. Not his father or Lola could only be a good thing, so Neil concentrated on it with everything he had.

“You were not caught, you are not back at Wesninski Castle. You are here with me and I am not going to let them take you away.”

Neil listened as the words sunk in. That was right he hadn’t been brought back to the castle. He wasn’t trapped with his father, Lola, or any of the other knights anymore. He had escaped. He had fought his father’s men, and would continue to fight. The crushing weight on his chest holding him under began to lift.

“Neil, look at me.” Neil opened his eyes and light poured in.

He blinked harshly against the sunlight as his mind worked to re-settle himself in his own body. The first thing he became aware of was how he felt like he had been put through the ringer. He was trembling, his chest felt crushed and bruised, his heart was pounding so hard he could feel it in his fingertips, and he was covered in a sheen of sweat. It was taking all of his remaining energy just to keep himself on his feet.

He choose to ignore the pains of his body, knowing those thoughts could lead down a potentially dangerous path again. Instead he tried to focus on his surroundings. His waterskin was still laid beside the small babbling stream, the sun was high overhead in a cloudless sky, and the leaves on the trees were swaying in a light breeze. Yet none of those things worthy enough to catch his attention, the only thing worth focusing on was the man standing in front of him.

Andrew looked as impassive as ever, but his grip on the back of Neil’s neck was bruising. It made it obvious that Neil’s panic had concerned him, but his face remained as passive as ever. Andrew’s fiercely solid presence did more to calm Neil down than any trite words of comfort ever could.

Neil found it was ironic that he had been working to get a reaction from Andrew the whole time they had been travelling, but it was his unflinchingly blank expression that was keeping him moored right now.

Though his voice was ragged and barely came out above a whisper he looked directly into Andrew’s eyes and said, “I see you.” 

Andrew’s jaw clenched hard at his words. “Stop staring at me like that.”

“But you just told me to look at you.”

Andrew dropped his hand away and stepped back. “Now I’m telling you to stop.”

Neil huffed in indignation. Though he did succeed in doing what Andrew asked, since Neil was now glaring at him. Andrew could be such a conundrum sometimes. One moment he would be ignoring Neil, then in the next he would be asking Neil all kinds of questions about his life. Also he knew Andrew had no intention of bringing him to the Foxhole Court, yet he had just said he would never let his father’s men take him. It didn’t make sense for Andrew to care what happened to Neil once they went their separate ways. They would never see each other again, so why did Andrew seemed determined to make sure Neil got out of his father’s reach.

Or maybe he could understand that last part a little. He wanted Andrew to get safely home to the Foxhole also, even though he would never see him there himself. The major difference was Andrew had friends and family waiting on him there, whereas Neil had nothing. 

Andrew turned and went to retrieve the bandages and salve out of their bags. He walked back to where Neil was still standing and said, “Sit.”

Neil did as he was told. They sat in silence as Andrew used the cold water from the stream to wipe the dirt and blood from his back. Once his wound was clean, Andrew spread the salve on it, and began to wrap the bandage around Neil’s torso.

“Do you still want to know about my scars,” Neil asked.

“Not if it’s going to cause you to have another panic attack,” Andrew answered voice gruff.

“That didn’t happen because of this,” Neil said as he gestured down at himself. “Not completely at least. It was mostly because we were found and I couldn’t stop imagining what my father would do to me if I was brought back.”

Andrew didn’t respond.

“So?” Neil asked again after a few more moments of silence.

“So. What?” Andrew asked in return.

“So, do you still want to know?”

Andrew didn’t answer again, just continued to wrap the bandage around Neil’s torso. Neil had decided he wasn’t going to get an answer by the time Andrew finished and washed his hands off in the stream. Once he was done Neil thought Andrew would repack the bags and they would leave. Instead he walked back to where Neil was sitting, sat down in front of him, and said, “Tell me.”

So Neil did.

He started by pointing out some of the longer scars on his chest, and told Andrew how Riko liked to see how far he could cut him before the pain got to be too much and Neil passed out. He moved on to the shorter cross hatching of scars, which were from the systematic way Lola liked to punish him.

Then he pointed out a random assortment of gashes that were made by his father. His father’s moods towards him were erratic, and the scars he left on Neil portrayed that. Some were short but had also cut deeper, these were made when his father had taken his violent anger out on him. There were long yet shallow ones along his abdomen that his father had used as a teaching technique. He had shown Neil the spots on a person’s body you could cut into that would make them slowly bleed out, by cutting the lines onto his flesh. It was a lesson his father made sure he would never forget.

Finally he pointed to the burn on his collarbone, which he also received from his father. Neil had not behaved well enough during a dinner when his father actually had guest over. After the guests retired to their rooms his father had drug him into the kitchens, ripped a fire iron out of one of the servant’s hands, and held the hot metal against Neil’s skin. He could still remember the smell of burning clothes and flesh.

When Neil had finished explaining a majority of his scars he looked back up at Andrew. He sat silent and stone faced as he continued to peruse Neil’s chest.

After a few moments Andrew reached his hand out and drug his fingers across Neil’s abdomen and asked, “And this?”

Neil looked down at where Andrew’s fingers were resting on top of the patch of pale shapeless skin. “When I was younger I was out riding around the grounds. One of the knights thought it would be a good laugh to scare my horse with me one it. It reared up and I fell. Except my foot got caught on the stirrup and it dragged me for a little ways across the road before it came loose.” Neil could still remember the bloody path that had been left of the ground, and how the knights all around had laughed. He raised his shoulders up in a small shrug and added, “I guess it was lucky that my shirt got rucked up and protected my face and arms.”

Neil’s story nor his attempt at self-deprecating humor caused even the slightest shift in Andrew’s mask. His fingers lightly moved across the patch of skin once more before he moved them up to the puckered flesh just below Neil’s collarbone. “Someone shot you with an arrow.”

“Failed escape attempt,” Neil explained.

That got Andrew to finally look up at his face, “You’ve tried escaping before?”

“Once, with my mother when I was ten.”

Andrew’s eyes flicked back down to his ruined torso and he studied it, like he could commit it to memory with just a look. He pulled his hand back from Neil’s chest and stood. Neil watched as he walked away from him, grabbed one of their bags, and hefted it over his shoulder. He turned back to Neil and said, “Get up. We should keep moving.”

Neil got up. He dug out the extra shirt and tunic from his bag and pulled them on. He was about to put his now cut up and bloodied set into his bag when Andrew stopped him. “Leave them, they’re ruined.”

Neil hated the thought of just leaving the clothes there, but Andrew’s face made it obvious he wasn’t going to argue with him about this. So Neil dropped them back down and followed after Andrew.

After walking for a few minutes Andrew spoke up, “You were ten nine years ago, isn’t that when your mother died?”

Neil looked at him quizzically, “It is, but how do you know that?”

“I lived in the Moriyama Kingdom then. The sudden and unexplained death of Lady Hatford-Wesninski was all anyone could talk about at the time.”

“And you just happen to remember the exact year when it happened, even though you were only a child?” Neil knew his mother’s death had been wide spread news, so it wasn’t surprising that Andrew had heard about it. What was surprising was how Andrew remembered exactly how many years ago it had been. In Neil’s experience most childhood memories tended to run and blend together, it was something he was grateful for more times than not.

Andrew of course didn’t deign to answer Neil’s question. It was something he was prone to do if the answer to a question had already been answered or it was obvious. Instead he asked, “Is that how she died?”

“Yes,” Neil answered. Again he wasn’t surprised by Andrew being able to put two and two together. 

“Tell me about it.”

Neil looked at him incredulously, “You want me to tell you the story of how I watched my mother die?”

Andrew just shrugged as he said, “You tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine.”

It was such a callous thing to say and ask for, but then again most of his interactions with Andrew couldn’t be described as tactful. Also the offer was too tempting to pass up. Andrew hadn’t talked much about his life after he was reunited with his family, and Neil was curious.

Anyways it wasn’t like telling Andrew about his failed escape attempt and how his mother was killed because of it was going to cause him emotional trauma now. It had happened nine years ago, he’d had plenty of time to grieve. So he agreed.

“My mother never liked how my father let Riko and some of the others, like Lola, treat me. Of course anytime she had brought it up with him, he dismissed her worry. Still whenever I was at home she protected me from most of the knights, since they feared her too. The only times she couldn’t watch over me were when my father took me with him to the Moriyama Kingdom. It was during one of those visit that things went bad.”

Neil remembered the trip. From the moment they had arrived it had been obvious Riko was more agitated that usual. During practice no matter what Neil did Riko would tell him he was doing it wrong and then punish him for it. Riko had lasted two more days before he snapped completely. He had Neil drug to an empty room and chained to the floor; he then proceeded to cut repeatedly into him. Usually Riko stopped when Neil passed out, but this time he didn’t. He continued to slice his anger into his skin, until Tetsuji found him and forced him to stop. Tetsuji had a physician tend to his wounds, but even hours after stitching him up Neil hadn’t woken. 

“Riko had caused me to lose too much blood. Tetsuji and the physicians were afraid I was going to die, so they called for my father. I’m not sure what happened once he arrived, but it must have been bad because Riko never went that far again.

My father took me home and I remained unconscious. When I finally woke up everyone but my mother had given up hope on me. She had stayed in my room with me the whole time. I can still remember the weight of her beside me as she held me close, and promised she would never let something like that happen again.

I was so weak after that I couldn’t even feed myself. It took me weeks to fully recover. Then one night my mother made good on her promise. She came into my room, packed me a bag, and then snuck us out of the castle. I didn’t think twice about going with her that night. We travelled for weeks together in the forest, I think it was one of the only times in my life I can remember feeling happy. 

We were heading east towards the mountains. She wanted to take me back to her family’s kingdom. At the entrance to the road that would lead us through the mountains, we were ambushed. My father had ordered the knights to kill my mother, and bring me back. We fought them together. My mother knew how to use knives just as deadly as my father, and I had five years of sword training by then. Things were actually going well for us until an arrow intended for my mother hit me instead.” Neil ran his finger down the scar remembering the shock he felt at seeing an arrow protruding from his body.

Neil walked quietly for a few more paces, until Andrew sent him a look that said go on. “I couldn’t use my sword after that, I was completely useless, but my mom continued to fight. She cut down two more knights, before another one decided the best way to get her to stop was to go after me. Even though they had been told not to kill me this knight brought his sword down at me in a wide sweeping arch. I knew that if the sword hit me I would have died, except it never did. At the last second my mother jumped in front of me, and the sword slashed across her abdomen. She bleed to death quickly after that.”

As she had laid bleeding out on the forest floor, she had held Neil fiercely and made him promise her he would live. Neil had watched in quiet shock as his mother took her final breaths. The knights had burned her body right there, then took Neil back to the castle. “After my mother died the knights got more aggressive with me. I think they resented me for choosing to run away with her, and since my father never made them stop they did anything they wanted to me.”

That last part caught Andrew’s full attention and he studied Neil with a critical eye before asking, “What do you mean by anything?”

Neil wondered it Andrew realized how loaded that question was? He wasn’t even sure he could remember all the ways the knights had cruelly bullied him throughout his life. “I showed you what Riko and Lola did. The other knights like Romero, Jackson, and some others used different methods. They would lock me in dark closets for extended periods of time, keep the servants from bringing me meals if I ever talked back to them, and countless other things that made my life miserable.”

Andrew’s expression was still an analyzing gaze, but it took on a darker tone as he asked, “Did they touch you?”

Neil was thoroughly confused by the question, because of course they had touched him. How else would they have caused him pain? “Yes, they had to in order to do most of those things.” 

Andrew’s jaw clenched as he said, “That’s not how I meant it.”

Of course that cleared nothing up for Neil. “Then how did you mean it?”

Andrew’s body tensed like he didn’t want to explain this to him, but did anyways, “I meant, did they force themselves on you in a sexual way?”

“No, never.” Neil hurriedly answered. Neil had no personal knowledge about sex. All he knew about it came from one vivid and at times disturbing lecture Lola had given him on it, and bits and pieces he had picked up from hearing The Ravens talk about it. Between the two he had a basic understanding, but still couldn’t begin to fathom why any of the knights would do something like that to him. “Why would they?”

Andrew turned his face away from Neil, but for one fleeting moment Neil caught sight of unimaginable anger. When Andrew turned back his mask was back in place. “It’s just another way for abusers to assert their dominance over you. A way for them to make you feel weak, and cause you pain.”

With horrible clarity Neil could understand that and didn’t need or want to hear anymore. Apparently Andrew was also done with the conversation, since he didn’t ask Neil anymore questions about his past abuse.

They walked on in silence for a while, but Neil couldn’t stop himself from thinking about why Andrew would ask him something like that. Or why it would cause a reaction so strongly in him when hardly anything else ever did. Then it hit him. “That’s happened to you before.”

Andrew went still and so did Neil. He hadn’t meant actually meant to voice that, but his own curiosity had gotten the better of him. 

Andrew didn’t answer, but he did turn his cold blank stare on Neil. Neil knew he should let the subject drop, but his brain was wouldn’t stop. He was remembering the way the Moriyama Knight had held Andrew down from behind, and cut away at his clothing.

“That’s what the Moriyama Knight had been going to do to you, before I came in.”

His words didn’t seem to faze Andrew, he just continued to stare coldly at him. Neil’s mind on the other hand continued to spiral. The knight hadn’t succeeded then, but Andrew still seemed to have a personal knowledge of what was going to happen. Which meant. “That hadn’t been the first time something like that happened to you.”

That finally got Andrew to move. He tromped towards Neil, grabbed a fistful of his tunic, and yanked him down to his eye level. “No Neil it wasn’t the first time, and if you must know Drake Spear wasn’t the first one at all. He was in fact the fifth,” Andrew spat. He released his death grip on Neil’s tunic. “Now you will never speak to me about this again.”

Neil’s felt nauseated by Andrew’s admission, and it made him sorry he hadn’t been able to keep his mouth shut from the beginning. Andrew shoved at his chest and stomped away. Neil stood still and waited for Andrew to get a good distance away from him before he started walking again too. He knew Andrew needed space now, and the least Neil could do was give him that small amount of peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 8 AKA The chapter were everyone’s past traumas are relieved in horrific detail.
> 
>  
> 
> FYI I have never had any type a panic attack. Or any kind of fear inducing, or induced by fear attack. I wrote this based off of information I found. And what I assume spiraling thoughts could lead too. I also tried to use some of Nora’s own wording for how Neil thinks sometimes.  
> I wanted to tag this canon typical Neil Josten thoughts/hallucinations of horrors and darkness.  
> This boy should really spend some quality time with Bee imo.
> 
> As I wrote the scene where Neil explains his scars and andrew touches them. All I could think about was the comment from @Siyah_Kedi about how Neil would find it weird if Andrew just started petting him. LOL well Andrew got his chance, and Neil thinks nothing of it.
> 
> So the first time I read that neil had been burned with an iron, I had actually imagined a firepoker iron. Then when he said it was triangle shaped and had holes in it, I just couldn't wrap my mind around how that was possible. Anyways it took me way too long to figure out she meant a clothes iron, which duh.
> 
> I got Andrew’s past abuser number from Nora’s extra content. She list them out in horrific detail, save yourself and don't read it.
> 
>  -
> 
> Info on the Wesninski Knights, because I don’t think this will ever come up in the story.
> 
> So there are two main groups of Wesninski Knights  
> The young -like younger teenaged aged- kids who are taken as tribute/taxes and forced into service. They are more impressionable, and also told that if they don’t cooperate then bad things will happen to their families.  
> The older knights who signed up themselves. These guys are power seeking abusers for the most part. They want to be apart of the powerful family and claim a little of that power for themselves. These are not good people.
> 
> All the good decent people in the Wesninski Kingdom who want to protect people are signing up for the town guards. So they can stay close to family and friends, protect the city they live in, and try to keep the official knights from doing too much damage.
> 
> So as these Wesninski Knights are killed, don’t feel bad. They are all terrible people who have abused their power to do awful things.
> 
> As for the Moriyama Knights it’s not exactly the same. The Moriyamas do keep a tight hold on their kingdom just like the Wesninskis, but that being said they also keep a tight hold on their knights also. Nathan allows his knights to be more abusive towards his people than Kengo does.
> 
> Also most of the knights in the Moriyama Kingdom rose up the correct way. First as pages, then squires, then knights. Which makes them more respected, and not so much feared. Unless of course you are a small kingdom that Ichirou has his eye on, then you should be a little scared.  
> Riko is in charge of the only group that uses tribute knights, and he and Tetsuji keep them in line very heavy handedly. They are also the group that is sent out to deal with problems. They enact cruel and torturous punishments on them. The people call them the Ravens, because they bring death.
> 
> Most of the people in the Moriyama Kingdom don’t even view them as knights, more like executioners. It’s one reason why Kengo and Ichirou distance themselves from Tetsuji and Riko. (The Moriyama’s have a tradition of having two children the first becomes the heir, the second becomes the head of the Ravens.) The citizens know that the Ravens aren’t sent out without the Lord’s approval, but they can still separate them in their minds. Kengo and Ichirou have done good things for the kingdom, Riko and Tetsuji never have.  
> -
> 
> You know what’s freaking amazing when you are writing fanfics. Having the Kindle edition of books. All I do is control F type in a name or a line and boom I can go back and read how they interacted to spoke to each other. It’s awesome.
> 
> Thanks for reading, commenting, leaving kudos. You’re so freaking awesome <3


	9. Chapter 9

Lola had been doing her best to stay out of Lord Wesninski’s immediate vicinity as the day’s passed and Nathaniel was still not found. It had been ten days since him and the Fox Knight had fled, and with each passing day Nathan’s temper rose. It had already boiled over once. Which resulted in him brutally beating a kitchen boy, who had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the worst time. After that incident servants and knights alike had taken to avoiding the Lord whenever possible.

Lola was currently sitting in the Great Hall having a quick meal, before she had to return to working on her correspondences with the knights. She was in charge of managing the messengers being sent to and from the castle, and also between the knights while they searched. The knights had already done a thorough search of every town and village located throughout the kingdom, and she hadn’t been surprised when the search turned up nothing. Lola had known there was no possible way Nathaniel would risk travelling through populated areas. He would stick to the forest, just like he had done with his mother all those years ago.

The sound of the Great Hall door being opened caught her attention, and she looked up to see a harried looking messenger boy burst into the room. “Ms. Malcolm I have news about the escaped prisoner.”

Lola sprung up from her seat in anticipation. “Has he been found?”

The messenger skidded to a quick stop and lowered his head. “No mam.”

She slumped back down into her chair, disappointed and a little irritated now. “Then what was so important that you needed to interrupt my dinner for?”

The messenger continued to look nervous, but at least he meet her eyes again as he said, “Two Wesninski Knights have been found dead in the forest between here and the Foxhole Court.”

That was interesting news, but she didn’t see how it equated to news about the escaped prisoner. It was possible these knights had come across Nathaniel and the Fox Knight, but it was also possible that random marauders had killed them. “Is that all?” she asked.

“No mam, there’s more,” the messenger told her, then began to dig through his satchel. “The knights who found the bodies searched the area and found these also.” He pulled two pieces of cloth out and held them up for her to exam.

Lola recognized the items immediately. It was a nobleman’s tunic and undershirt. “Do you know who these belong to?”

The boy reluctantly nodded his head. If he recognized the tunic, it meant he was aware that the story they had been spinning about Nathaniel being sick in bed this whole time was a lie. If he let it slip that the Wesninski Heir had fled and killed two of his own knights all of Nathan’s carefully crafted plans would be ruined.

Lola abruptly stood pushing the chair forcefully away from her, and crossed around the table. When she reached the boy he flinched back, but knew better than to actually step away from her. She wrapped her hand around his throat and squeezed. “You will not speak a word of this to anyone else. Do you understand?”

He managed a slight nod.

“If I hear anything about Nathaniel, besides that he is upstairs bedridden. I will know that you were the one who couldn’t keep their mouth shut, and will respond appropriately to your treason.”

His eyes grew wide with fear. This time he responded by choking out, “I promise I won’t tell anybody.”

Lola released her hold on him. She briefly admired the already darkening bruises she left on the boy’s neck, before snatching the clothes from his hands. “Your promises mean nothing to me. Now get out of my sight, before I decide to permanently silence you.” The messenger turned and walked as quickly as he could away from her.

Right before he reached the door Lola called out, “Wait.” The boy immediately stiffened. Then turned around slowly to face her again.

“Which two knights were found dead?” She asked him.

“Antonin and Barty,” he answered quickly.

Lola dismissively flicked her hand and the messenger scurried hurriedly out the door. Antonin and Barty were no real loss at least. They were older knights who she had trusted to keep Wesninski secrets, but they had failed to keep up with their sword training and were hardly useful anymore. They had also both taken up with drinking heavily, and were probably costing the kingdom more in alcohol than they were worth.

She turned the cloth over in her hands and noticed a jagged bloodied tear through it. Whatever had gone done between the knights and the two runaways, Nathaniel clearly hadn’t gotten out of it unscathed. Good, the ungrateful brat deserved it and so much worse. Nathan had given him the best education, the best sword tutor in the kingdom, and a comfortable life. It was Nathaniel’s own fault he was weak, and chose to never stand up for himself. Instead he tried his best to become a phantom inside the castle, probably hoping to one day vanish completely.

His cowardice infuriated her, he was nowhere near the man his father was. He didn’t deserve the honor of having been born with the Wesninski name. When they found him, Lola was going to greatly enjoy making sure Nathaniel regretted having ever been born. Right now though she had the unfortunate task of informing Nathan of this latest development.

She found Nathan in his study and conveyed the news to him. Which he had listened to without saying a word in reply. Afterwards he had taken Nathaniel’s clothes from her, and was still studying them intently. His expression, as he looked at the bloody gash in the fabric, was hard for her to decipher. It wasn’t loss, sadness, or hurt. Lola knew it was impossible for him to feel any of those over Nathaniel. She knew it also wasn’t betrayal, since he hadn’t seemed surprised at all by his son’s actions. He just looked contemplative, though Lola had no idea what could be occupying his mind so intensely. 

Finally after a few more moments Nathan proclaimed, “My son is dead.”

That was not what she had been expecting him to say at all, and she wondered if he had misunderstood her. “My Lord, they didn’t find Nathaniel’s body just his tunic.” 

“That matters not,” he told her as he tossed Nathaniel’s tunic and undershirt disdainfully into the corner. “All that matters is what we are going to tell the people. Spread the word that a Fox Knight we were holding captive for killing three of our brave knights, broke out of his cell due to the carelessness of a Moriyama Knight. He then abducted my son, and forced him into helping him escape. After learning that my only child and heir was missing I had the kingdom extensively searched, but alas I was too late. The Fox Knight had killed Nathaniel, and left his body to rot alone in the forest. My knights brought my son’s body back to me, we held a quiet funeral, then buried him next to his mother.”

Lola listened to the story Nathan was spinning, and had to admit it was grand. It was also complete bullshit. Of course that wouldn’t matter, because she understood the only intention of Nathan’s plan was to cause the people of the kingdom to mourn the death their young lord and also make them scorn the Foxhole Kingdom. There was only one problem. “I thought you needed people to believe Nathaniel was alive for your plan with Ichirou?” 

“For my original plan yes, but I believe this new plan will actually work out better for us. First you need to send Romero and Jackson to the Foxhole Court and demand that they turn the Knight Andrew Minyard over to us immediately.”

“Of course, Sir,” Lola answered. Then she waited to see if Nathan would explain his new plan to her. She knew better than to dare ask him about it. She was still on thin ice with him right now for allowing this whole debacle to happen in the first place.

She got lucky, it seemed like Nathan was in a sharing mood today. “We have a right to hold a trial against the Fox Knight for killing Nathaniel, and if he isn’t handed over we can use any force necessary to procure him. So when Lord Wymack refuses to hand the knight over to us, it will be all the cause we need to retaliate against his kingdom. Since the Allied Kingdoms only made their pact to help protect each other if they are attacked unprovoked, the others will not have to honor it. Of course some of them might choose to aid the Fox Court, but I am positive that most will refuse. Then with the kingdoms squabbling with each other, and part of them fighting against us. It will be the perfect opportunity for Ichirou to make his move against the rest.”

Lola had to admit it all sounded good in theory, but it would all be for not if Ichirou didn’t take the bait. “How can you be sure that Ichirou will make his move?”

“Send word to the Moriyamas that I plan on taking out the Foxhole Kingdom to avenge the death of Nathaniel. Ichirou will recognize it as the opportunity he has been waiting for.” 

With that Nathan sat back down behind his desk. Lola knew it was a dismissal, but she risked asking him one final question, “What do we do about Nathaniel, since he is not in fact dead?”

Nathan looked back up to her, and a dark expression crossed his face. “Have our knights relocate in groups along the Broad River. If he and that Fox Knight are heading towards the Foxhole Kingdom they will have to cross it. Make sure they are not allowed to slip past us again, I want Nathaniel brought back here alive. Then I will personally see to it that he will never be a problem for me again.”

-

A week and a half had passed since they had been ambushed by the Wesninski Knights, and luckily they’d had no further run-ins with any of his father’s people. Two days ago they had reached the Broad River, and Neil had released a sigh of relief at his first glimpse of the winding path the river cut through the forest. The river got its name from it being the broadest river in the area of land located between the mountains to the east of the Wesninski and Moriyama Kingdoms, and the ocean west of all the Allied Kingdoms.

Reaching the river meant they were out of Wesninski Kingdom territory and into neutral lands. Of course even if they were out of his father’s kingdom, that didn’t mean they were out of harm’s reach. Neil knew his father would send knights into the neutral trading towns if it meant he could bring them back.

It was now mid-morning of the third day since they had turned to follow the Broad River south. The forest tree line grew all the way to the bank of the river, which made it easy for them to stay hidden amongst the trees while also keeping an eye on the river’s path. Even though they were fairly camouflaged by the trees, they knew that travelling this close to the river could be dangerous if his father had any knights patrolling the area.

Neil’s attention was caught by the sound of rustling leaves, when he looked up he noticed pillars of white chimney smoke rising above the treetops in the distance. The site of the smoke took him by surprise. He had guessed that they might be reaching the outskirts of a small neutral trading village soon, but he hadn’t realized that they were already this close.

It was at this village that Andrew and his journey together would end. They had chosen it in part because the Foxhole Court’s border reached all the way to the Broad River here, and also because there was an easily accessible bridge to cross it. The bridge was located about half a mile west of the village, and had been built as part of a large road. It was in fact the main road east out of Palmetto, and was used often to carry goods in and out of town. 

The site of the smoke and the realization that Andrew and he were going to be parting ways very soon, caused an odd fluctuation of sensations in his chest. At first his chest felt light with relief that they had made it this far. Andrew was nearly home, and Neil was that much closer to being out of his father’s reach.

Then as soon as it hit him that Andrew would be leaving tonight his chest began to ache. Neil was going to be left alone again. This brief time with Andrew was one of the only times in his life that he hadn’t truly been on his own. He had never trusted anyone at his father’s castle after his mother’s death, and therefore had never let anyone get close before. 

It was after the fight with his father’s knights that Neil realized he completely trusted Andrew. Afterwards he tried to figure out when how he felt towards Andrew had made that shift into trust, but couldn’t pinpoint an exact moment. Meaning it had been a gradual shift between the two of them. Which had caused Neil to have a mini panic attack at the realization that he had let Andrew in without even being conscious of it. 

Now he had come to terms that he had let Andrew in, he had also come to terms with the fact that it would probably never happen again. He would move on to a new kingdom as a lie, and therefore never be able to trust anyone else fully again. He would always have to be cautious of what he said and did. He could never let someone get close again, because he would always fear what would happen if they learned his secrets.

Of course there was no point in thinking about any of this. The openness he felt with Andrew would end tonight, and he would go back to how he had always been. Nothing could change their fates now. Andrew was not going to suddenly change his mind and allow Neil to come to the Foxhole with him, and honestly Neil didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to bring any of his problems down on them. The Foxes had enough problems in their own lives, they deserved to not have to deal with Neil’s also. 

So pushing down the ache in his chest, he pointed up towards the sky above the treetops. Andrew followed to where his finger was pointing out the cluster of chimney smoke, and only gave a quick nod of understanding in return. One of the precautions they had taken since reaching the Broad River was talking to each other as little as possible. The most they had talked to each other in the past three days was on the first day when they had hashed out their plans.

The plan they had decided on was for them to make camp in the forest between the village and the bridge, and wait until nightfall before they made their move. Then Andrew would cross over the bridge into the Foxhole Kingdom, from there it would only take about an hour maybe two for him to reach the town of Palmetto. Neil would stay on the east side of the river and continue travelling south till he passed the Foxhole Kingdom’s southern border. Then he would turn and head west until he reached one of the other Allied Kingdoms. 

In order for their plan to work though, the first thing they had to do was reach the bridge without being seen. Since Andrew and he couldn’t risk venturing too close to the village or the road until nightfall provided them more cover, Neil had suggested that they just stick close by the river. Andrew had told him that wouldn’t work, because the people that worked and traded in the village built many of their homes along its banks. Also that many other homes were scattered throughout the forest in this area. Which meant that they were going to have to make a zig zagged path through the forest, in hopes that they wouldn’t cross anybody else.

*

As they continued walking it became more and more noticeable that the smoke columns were spaced out from each other. A large group clustered together further in the distance indicated the village, and as Andrew had said there were quite a few cottages scattered around the forest and along the river. Soon they reached a point where they were forced to walk further into the forest. As they did, they did their best to avoid coming to near any of the houses.

Of course that was not always possible, because not every house had their fire lit. Sometimes they would find themselves only a few yards away from a house that had been hidden amongst the trees. Anytime this would happen they would quickly backtrack, and make a wide loop around it.

It was during one of these times that they were almost spotted by a family that happened to be outside tending their garden. They had walked around a thicket and suddenly found themselves in a clearing with a little cottage in it. Then had frozen instantly at the sight of two people about twenty feet from them. They were lucky that the two women were tending the garden with their backs turned towards them.

Neil and Andrew quickly and quietly began backing away, until Neil caught a bit of the women’s conversation.

“I can’t believe the village council is not going to do anything about those Wesninski Knights. They have been causing so many problems at the inn. Harassing the barmaids, trying to start fights, and refusing to pay their tabs.” One of the women said scornfully to the other.

“You know they can’t.” The other woman chided. “If the council tried to kick out the knights, Lord Wesninski would retaliate against us. He would conquer our small village, then force us to pay taxes and tribute to him.” A shiver passed over her. “The only reason we are allowed our freedom now, is because we facilitate the trade between his kingdom and the Allied Kingdoms.”

Neil stood frozen again at their words. The women had probably kept talking, but right now all he could hear was the blood rushing in his ears. His father’s men were already here. They knew he would be coming this way, and were waiting on him.

Neil was yanked backwards by the strap on his satchel. He quickly turned, raising his fist, intending to fight off whichever one of his father’s knights had found him again, but stopped himself when he saw it was just Andrew. Andrew gave him a blank unimpressed look at his reaction, then indicated with a quick jut of his chin for Neil to follow him. Somewhere in the back of Neil’s mind he knew they needed to get out of sight, so he forced his feet to move after Andrew.

Once they reached a point that was far enough away from the house Andrew asked, “What now?”

Neil had been trying and failing spectacularly to not think about what would happen if they were found here. He had managed to keep it together while they had walked, but now that they were a safe distance away he felt himself beginning to panic. His breathing became ragged, and he could feel his arms and legs trembling.

His vision had become unfocused so he didn’t notice Andrew reach for him, but he didn’t flinch away from the grounding hand that grasped onto the back of his neck. It tugged him forwards, and he stumbled into Andrew’s solid chest.

“Breathe,” Andrew commanded of him.

Between Andrew’s hand anchoring him, and his body holding him up Neil was able to slowly work on calming himself down. Once his legs stopped trembling Andrew took a small step away, so that Neil was no longer leaning against him. When Neil finally got his breathing back under control he opened his eyes, and the sight before him made his breath catch.

Andrew had stepped backwards right into a beam of sunlight that was reaching down through the treetops. The light caused his pale hair to shine, and made his eyes seem almost golden. Neil felt entranced, and couldn’t tear his eyes away from Andrew.

In the next moment though he was immediately struck by how odd that was for him. He had never really thought much about people’s appearances before, and he didn’t understand why he had been suddenly stunned by just the site of Andrew. Yet he still couldn’t bring himself to stop staring at the other man either.

While he had been staring at Andrew, Andrew had been studying him intently in return. Probably looking for any more signs that Neil would fall prey to his dark thoughts again. When it became obvious that Neil was okay now Andrew let go of his neck and asked again, “What now?”

Neil finally was able to force his eyes away from Andrew, but he had to blink a few times in order to clear his mind of the image. Once the unfamiliar warm feeling in his chest abated he was able to focus on more important matters again.

Right now they needed to think through their options and come up with a new plan. It would be unwise for them to get any closer to the village, and downright stupid for them to try and cross the bridge now. Of course they didn’t really need a bridge, Andrew only needed to cross the river in order to be in the Foxhole Kingdom. Which made Neil remember seeing a bend in the river that was slightly narrower and shallower further north. If Andrew was going to have to swim it would be the easiest place for him to cross.

After he relayed this information to Andrew, Andrew gave a quick nod of acceptance then asked, “And what will you do?”

Neil pushed aside all of his panicked thoughts from earlier, and realized he only had one option. He shrugged as he answered, “I will try to go as wide around the village as I can, and hope I don’t run into any knights.”

Andrew shook his head. “They will be searching everywhere for you around this area, there is a high chance you will run into them.”

“I don’t have any other options,” Neil argued back. He knew it was risky, but he wasn’t going to let his fear get the best of him. He wasn’t going to give up now.

Then Andrew said something that took him completely by surprise, “Cross the river with me.”

“What?” Neil asked stunned.

“The knights won’t risk patrolling in Foxhole territory. So it would be safer for you to cross the river and the travel south through it.” Andrew said in a matter of fact way, like it was a simple suggestion.

Of course Neil knew this wasn’t that simple. “I thought you didn’t want me in the Foxhole Kingdom at all?”

“I don’t,” Andrew agreed in his blank voice. “But I told you I wasn’t going to let them take you back either, and travelling through the outskirts of the kingdom will be the easiest way for you to avoid them. Plus you won’t come anywhere near the castle or Palmetto.”

Neil couldn’t quite believe what Andrew was offering, but he knew better than to refuse it. It was his best and safest option after all. His father’s knights couldn’t patrol the western side of the Broad River without the threat of being attacked by Foxhole Knights, so he would be able to safely pass through.

After he accepted Andrew’s offer, he took a moment to check the sun and determine their direction. Thankfully it wasn’t completely overhead yet, so he easily figured out which way they needed to go. 

As they made their way back north they encountered the same problem as before. Houses would pop out of seemingly nowhere. They had already come upon three when Neil rounded a tree, and caught sight of another cottage. He was much closer to it than he was comfortable with, so he hurriedly turned around. Just as he was about to step around a tree and out of sight, a voice called his name.

“Nathaniel,” the familiar voice called out again, and it chilled him to the bone. He jerked his head to the right, and saw Jackson Plank step out from the cottage door.

Neil felt ice entering his lungs. The sight of Jackson standing before them made him feel like he was drowning and being frozen solid all at the same time. He wanted to run, he wanted to fight, he wanted to claw the water out of his lungs, but he couldn’t move.

“You used to be better at this,” Jackson sneered as he began to approach him. “All that time spent slinking around the castle avoiding everyone, just to slip up and be seen here.”

Neil couldn’t believe it either. He couldn’t believe that Jackson had found them, and that there would be no running anymore.

Jackson stopped about twenty feet from him, and asked, “Did you know we offered a reward for any information about the whereabouts of the Fox Knight who escaped us?”

Neil didn’t answer, he only stared in shock at the man he knew would delight in returning him to his father.

When Jackson realized he wasn’t going to get an answer he continued. “We did. So when the nice lady who lives here saw two young men sneaking through the woods outside, she knew it was in her best interest to send word to us in the village. What a coincidence it was that right after we arrived to investigate her claim, you two decided to show up again.”

Neil took note of how Jackson used the word we in that sentence, and looked around for other Wesninski Knights. He saw two more had come around from the back of the cottage, seemingly summoned by Jackson’s words. 

At the site of the other two knights Neil’s lung cleared enough to speak again, but he knew his voice had a jagged edge to it as he said, “We’re not going back.”

Jackson laughed. “You don’t have much of a choice in the matter now do you.” He gestured at himself and the two knights to his right. “There is three of us and only two of you, plus Romero and two more knights are stationed at the inn in the village.”

Six of his father’s knights were here.

The daunting task of being faced with that many knights worked wonders on jump starting his brain again, and he immediately started trying to think of a way out. Neil knew six on two would be impossible odds. But if they could take out Jackson and the other two, then they could get away before Romero and the others knew they were here.

They were going to have to fight. So Neil drew his sword out, and saw Andrew pulling two knives free. Neil turned his attention to Jackson and said, “Then I guess we’re not going back without a fight.”

Jackson laughed again, but still pulled his sword out at Neil’s challenge. The other two knights followed suit. 

“If you deal with those two, I will take Jackson,” Neil whispered to Andrew. The two knights Jackson had with him were paltry fighters in comparison with him. So Neil knew their best bet was for one of them to focus on Jackson, while the other fought the other two. And he had full faith in Andrew’s capabilities to handle them.

A slight nod of acknowledgement from Andrew was all Neil needed before he was running full force at Jackson. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the metallic glint of one of Andrew’s knives sailing towards the other two knights, but he didn’t have time to turn his head fully and see if it hit its mark. He was already upon Jackson. He raised his sword up and clashed it down against him.

Jackson countered his first strike. Neil raised his sword up again, but instead of bringing it back down he held it in a defensive stance. He took a few steps back, and firmly planted his feet on the ground. He didn’t often practice against his father’s knights, but he had watched them train enough that he knew their fighting style in and out. Jackson Plank was one of his father’s most talented sword fighters, but Neil knew he was better.

Jackson stood his ground across from Neil, and said, “It’s a pity that I can’t kill you now since your father wants you brought back alive. At least when we get you back to the castle I will get the satisfaction of seeing your father cut you apart.”

Neil knew Jackson was trying to make him panic, but Neil was past his initial shock and completely unfazed by his taunts. Jackson could say whatever he wanted right now, and it wouldn’t matter. Neil wasn’t going back. He was making his stand here with Andrew, and they were going to win.

When Neil ignored his taunts, Jackson gritted his teeth, and lunged at him. Neil countered, and they continued to clash swords over and over.

As the fight went on and neither were able to easily gain the upper hand, it became obvious that Jackson was getting frustrated. He had probably been expecting to easily defeat Neil, like he had when he had been much younger. This wasn’t like before though, Neil was older and more determined to do whatever it took to make sure Andrew and he got safely away.

In his frustration Jackson over-swung his sword and Neil took advantage of his mistake. He locked his sword in the cross-guard on Jackson’s sword so that he wouldn’t be able to bring it down, then he kicked out at Jackson. As he made contact with his knee, he also pulled back his sword. These two movements combined caused Jackson to lose his balance, and he fell backwards on the ground.

Neil held his sword out and stalked towards him with the full intention of ending this fight and Jackson’s life. Before he could get close enough though Jackson clenched his hand into the dirt, and threw the fistful at Neil. The dirt stung his eyes, temporarily blinding him, and caused him to stagger backwards away from Jackson.

After he quickly rubbed and blinked most of the dirt out of his eyes, he opened them. He had expected to see Jackson bearing down on him, but instead Neil saw him running towards his horse. Neil’s jaw clenched in anger when he realized Jackson had used the dirty trick just to escape in order to get backup. Neil couldn’t let that happen so he started to run after him, but a hand grasped the back of his cloak and jerked him to a stop. “He’s too far ahead you won’t reach him before he gets on the horse.”

Neil whipped his head around and found Andrew standing right behind him. He looked past him and saw the other two knights were lying dead on the ground. He was relieved that two of the knights had been dealt with, but they still couldn’t afford to allow Jackson to go get more. “We can’t let him go get reinforcements.” 

“It’s too late,” Andrew told him as he pointed over Neil’s shoulder. Neil turned to look and saw that Jackson was already on his horse, and leading it and the other two knight’s horses back towards the village. “All we can do is run now.”

Neil turned back to look at him. “Where are we supposed to run to? Nowhere will be safe now that they know we’re here.”

“The Foxhole will,” Andrew said like it was obvious.

“But…”

Andrew grabbed his arm and started to pull him in the direction of the river. “No buts. We don’t have time to argue about this. We need to try and reach the castle before they find us again.”

Andrew started to run, dragging Neil along behind him by the wrist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I got the worst case of writer's block with this chapter, which just happen to coincide with me starting my new job.  
> I think my biggest problem trying to write this chapter was that I knew how I wanted to end it, but I couldn't get a good start. Everytime I tried everything just felt stilted and wasn't working.
> 
> I started this with Lola's POV because I needed to get that information out there, then every time I tried to work on Neil's part I just got nothing.  
> Finally about a week ago I had a good writing day, I finished Lola and Neil's parts, and after that editing became a lot easier.  
> Except I was having a new problem now. This chapter was also supposed to include Andrew's POV, but every time I got to his part to write it I was mentally exhausted from editing the previous parts.
> 
> Then yesterday it hit me, I could just make Andrew's part a new separate chapter. So I checked my word count, and holy shit I'm already over 5500 words.(How is it that my worst case of writer's block led me to write my longest chapter?????)
> 
> Anyways so I did a finally edit and posted these parts, hopefully now that I'm not going back and editing these again I will be able to focus more on Andrew's part.  
> (Also the part that I had planned out for this chapter comes during Andrew's POV, so I still haven't even gotten to it yet LOL)
> 
> P.S. Timeline wise - Lola's part takes place six days after Neil and Andrew are attacked by the Wesninski Knights, then Neil's part takes place five days after Lola's  
> P.P.S. Did anyone notice the Harry Potter reference?  
> P.P.P.S. I wrote this whole endnote, then when I went to open my word doc it wasn't saved. I was really sad, cause like I didn't want to write it again.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading, I hope you like this chapter. I'm really looking forward to the next one, I just hope I do it justice. It's kinda an important part, and I'm super worried that I will do a horrible job of writing it. I think that is also what kinda led to my writer's block also.  
> <3
> 
> *Update - so my writers block has continued. To work on it I tried going back and rereading the first chapters, in hopes of getting a feel for the story again. When I did I made a few changes. Some chapters barely anything changed, other chapters got whole paragraphs added. Nothing that changes the story at all though.
> 
> This chapter was one of the ones I reworked though. I hadn't been completely happy with it when I posted it, so I was going through it quite a bit and making small changes.  
> I am much happier with it now, and now that I feel good about it it has made it a lot easier for me to move on with chapter ten. I have about 1500 words written in it, which I believe is probably going to be about 1/3 of it. Hopefully I will be able to write out a lot this weekend, then be able to edit next week.
> 
> The updates are probably going to continue being slower now that I started my job.


	10. Chapter 10

Andrew didn’t have time to think about the consequences of bringing Neil with him to the Foxhole. He’d known as soon as he saw the three Wesninski Knights that they didn’t have many options anymore, but it had been Jackson’s comment on what Neil’s father was going to do to him that had sealed his decision. Even though he had been adamant about Neil not coming to the Foxhole there was no way Andrew was going to let him risk being caught and returned to his father who planned on torturing and killing him.

Neil had taken a risk when he had helped him escape, and Andrew still needed to repay that debt to him. At first he had convinced himself that he didn’t owe Neil anything. That Neil helping him to escape had been him repaying Andrew for his family locking him up in the first place, but as time went on it became harder to continue telling himself that. He knew that he needed to repay Neil and letting him take refuge at the Foxhole was the easiest way to do it. After that they would be even, then maybe the weight that had settled on his chest recently whenever he thought about Neil going off without him would finally ease.

Right now he needed to get them to the castle as quickly as possible, which meant they didn’t have time to make it to the shallower part of the river Neil had initially wanted to cross at. As Andrew led them to the closest point of the river he knew that his grip on Neil’s wrist was bruisingly tight, but he couldn’t bring himself to let go. The clench in his chest told him that if he let go of Neil now he would be lost to him for good. 

Eventually after they cleared the tree line he was forced to release Neil’s wrist, so that they could have both hands free as they scrambled down the steep river bank. When they reached the edge of the water he dropped his bag and told Neil to do the same. Their bags would only weight them down unnecessarily in the water, besides once they reached Fox Castle they would have everything they could possibly need anyways.

Neil complied without protest and they started to wade into the river. They were lucky that the Broad River was slow moving, because they didn’t need to waste any of their precious little time struggling to swim against the current. Once they reached a point in the river where the water reached their chests they started swimming. The river was about 10 yards wide here, so it didn’t take them long to make it to the other side. As soon as they had climbed back up the opposite bank of the river Andrew took off running again. This time he forced himself to not reach out for Neil knowing that he would follow, and that trying to pull him along would only hinder them both as they ran. 

His original plan had been to walk the distance between the Broad River and Palmetto, which would have taken him a little over an hour to do. Now that they needed to reach the castle as quickly as possible it would take them considerable less time.

As he led them easily between their location and the castle Andrew told himself that he should thank Wymack for forcing him to do countless perimeter checks and watches over the past three years. Those monotonous patrols meant that now he knew the area perfectly, and so knew the most direct path to take. The path had them crossing multiple large fields, and they had already crossed one field, through a small area of trees, and were in the middle of a second one. If his memory was correct, which Andrew was sure it was, this meant they had already covered about half the distance to the castle.

They had nearly reached the edge of the field and another line of trees, which divided it from the next field, when the sounds of hoofbeats coming from behind them made Andrew’s chest seize.

He halted immediately and turned needing to know who was approaching them. He could hope that maybe it was Fox Knights, but the icy dread filling his veins was telling him that the Wesninski Knights had found them again already. His fears were confirmed when he heard Neil let out a string of curses at the sight of two riders wearing Wesninski blue surcoats coming quickly towards them.

With no possibilities of hiding or outrunning the horses Andrew and Neil pulled out their weapons knowing they were going to have to fight again.

As the knights drew closer Andrew got a better look at their faces, and found he didn’t recognize them. They must have been the other two knights who had been holed up in the village. He didn’t know why Jackson and Romero were not with them, but didn’t question their luck at being faced with only two knights for now.

The knights circled their horses around them in order to block their path to Palmetto. They then dismounted and one called out, “There is no point running anymore, Nathaniel. Jackson and Romero will be here soon, and you won’t escape again.”

“The only thing I see standing in our way is you two, and you look like a measly opposition to me. So it seems like escaping again is exactly what were about to do,” Neil jeered back.

“Even if you do somehow manage to get passed us you will never escape your father. He will burn Palmetto and knock down the Foxhole Castle Walls to get to you.”

Neil looked stricken for a moment, but recovered quickly. “He wouldn’t dare attack the Foxhole without cause.”

A cruel smile grew on the knight’s face as he said, “Oh, but he does have a cause.”

“What do you mean?” Neil demanded.

“Haven’t you heard? Your dead Nathaniel, and this Fox Knight was the one that killed you.”

That was concerning news to Andrew. If Lord Wesninski was claiming that he had killed Neil, then the Wesninski Kingdom would have the right to demand his immediate return.

Neil looked stunned as well by the news, and his voice came out quieter now as he said, “But that’s not true.”

“It doesn’t matter. You went missing two weeks ago, and Lord Wymack has already refused to hand over this knight,” The Wesninski Knight spat out as he gestured towards Andrew. “Plus you will be as good as dead once your father gets his hands on you again.”

Wymack and his bleeding heart actions were even more concerning to Andrew. Wymack shouldn’t have refused Lord Wesninski demands. Now the Fox Court was going to have a war on their hands soon, and Andrew didn’t think he was worth the whole kingdom being put at risk for.

He would have to worry about that later though, right now he had other things to focus on. They needed to deal with these knights, before the other two had a chance to catch up also. He found it puzzling that neither of them looked like they were in any hurry to fight. 

Then Andrew realized what they were doing. “Their stalling,” he told Neil.

Neil glanced at Andrew, before quickly looking back towards the other knights. He then hefted his sword up, clearly preparing to run headfirst into another fight, but before he did though he cast Andrew a quick smirk and said, “Let’s bring the fight to these cowards then.”

Then Neil was charging full force ahead. Sometimes Andrew was baffled at how Neil could waver between panic at the thought of facing his father’s knights, and running head first into fights with them. Though now wasn’t the time for Andrew to contemplate Neil’s fluctuating courage. So he shook his head to clear the thought, grasped his knives tightly in his fist, and ran after Neil

When he got into a close enough proximity to the knights he threw one of his knives out. The knight who was his target had been focusing all his attention on Neil and didn’t see Andrew’s movement fast enough and his knife stuck him soundly in the shoulder. The Wesninski Knight let out a guttural yell and angrily ripped the knife from his body. He flung it to the ground and turned his attention towards Andrew preparing to fight.

Right before Andrew reached the knight he cast a quick glance to his left, and saw Neil was already fully engaged with the other knight. Then he turned his full attention back to the knight in front of him, and brought his knife up just in time to block the first strike from the knight’s sword.

Just as had been the case with the last set of Wesninski Knights he’d fought, it was obvious from the start that this knight was not as skilled of a fighter as Andrew was. Most people were under the false impression that because he used knives it would put him at a disadvantage when fighting someone with a sword. When in fact it was usually the exact opposite, since most people had never been trained to fight against someone using knives.

Andrew was well versed in using one of his knives to easily fend off sword strikes, while using the other to deliver cut after cut to his opponent’s hands and arms. Eventually the cuts would make it impossible for his opponents to even hold their swords anymore.

This was exactly what he was doing now, and it was clear that this knight was just barely holding out against his attacks. Andrew kept delivering blow after blow, and within a short time the knight’s injuries caused him to lose his grip. As his sword clattered to the ground Andrew wasted no time in taking advantage of the opening, and plunged his knife deep into the knight’s chest. He pulled his knife free and watched as the knight collapsed to the ground. 

Andrew was standing over the knight making sure there was no way he was going to get back up again when he heard Neil release a desperate cry of no.

He quickly began to turn around needing to know what had happened to Neil, but before he made it even half way around a body slammed into him. The force knocked him to the ground, and his shoulder took the brunt of his fall. He ignored the pain and rolled into a seated position, so that he could see what had happened. When he looked up his world stopped.

The knight Neil had been fighting was holding his sword straight out in front of him in the exact place Andrew had been standing only a few seconds before. Except Andrew only wasn’t standing there anymore because Neil had used to own body to push him out of the way, and now stood in his place instead.

Andrew stared up in horror at the knight’s sword which was pierced through the left side of Neil’s abdomen.

Time slowed. What must have only been a matter of seconds dragged on and on as Andrew, Neil, and the Wesninski Knight were frozen in place. Neil’s blood dripping from the tip of the knight’s sword was the only movement in those endless seconds.

Neil released a jagged breath, and the world started turning again. 

The heart wrenching sound of Neil’s pained breathing tore a hole open in Andrew’s chest. It also jarred the knight into action, and he began pulling away from Neil.

Andrew watched, still frozen in shock, as Neil began shaking more and more violently as the sword was pulled back out. The shaking stopped when the sword was completely free of his body, and Neil collapsed to the ground. He looked like a puppet who just had its strings cut.

Seeing Neil laying on the ground, body shuddering in pain, and frantically clutching his hands to his wound finally jolted Andrew into movement. He needed to get to Neil, he needed to stop the bleeding, he needed to wrap his hands around the neck of the knight who dared to harm Neil and watch the life slowly drain away.

The exact knight who had turned his back to them, and was now running towards his horse.

The sight of the knight running away from what he had just done to Neil caused Andrew’s anger to surge out. The two knives that were still clutched in his fist were out of his hands and into the knight’s retreating back before Andrew even realized he had thrown them.

Even though his first two knives had sunk deep into the knight's back he only faltered for a moment, before continuing trying to flee. So Andrew didn’t stop with two. He didn’t stop until every single one of his knives were buried in the knight’s back. Only then with the knight lying dead on the ground did his anger recede back into himself, and he was able to turn back around and kneel beside Neil.

His mind was clouded and he didn’t know exactly what to do, but he knew he needed to touch Neil. Just to assure himself that Neil was still there, still breathing, still fighting for his life. Neil who was laying on the ground eyes wide in pain, fear, and shock, and although he was attempting to put pressure on his wound it was still bleeding profusely. His hands and arms were covered with blood, and his tunic and cloak were already starting to soak through.

There was so much blood that Andrew wondered how there could possibly be any more left in Neil’s body.

Andrew reached out to him, and noticed that his own hands were shaking as he pressed them down on top of Neil’s. It didn’t take long for them to become covered in blood also.

The sight sent Andrew into a panic. Neil was losing too much blood. There was no way he could save him. No way for him to stop that much bleeding. Neil was going to bleed out, and die. 

No, Neil couldn’t die here. Andrew wouldn’t let him die here. Neil hadn’t escaped his tormentors, then traveled all this way, just to die as soon as he reached the place he could finally live safely at.

Neil had to live, he needed Neil to live.

Andrew had to pull himself together. If he panicked now Neil really would die. He needed to focus.

The first thing that needed to happen was for them to try and find a better solution to stop the bleeding. He almost looked around for their bags, which still had some bandages in them, before remembering that he made them leave them on the other side of the river. He cursed himself, then began searching for his next best option.

His eyes landed on Neil’s now ruined cloak, it was made of a strong material which he could easily cut into strips. It was dirty, but he would let Aaron and Abby worry about dealing with any infection once they got to Fox Castle. He reached up to unclasped the cloak from Neil’s neck and said, “I’m going to lift you up a little bit.”

Neil gave a slight nod in understanding, and Andrew lifted him just enough to pull the cloak out from under him. With Neil’s cloak in hand he reached for a knife before remembering they were all now embedded in the back of the Wesninski Knight. He cursed himself again, and quickly got up to retrieve two of them.

He cleaned the blood off his knives, then set about cutting a good sized square from the cloak. Once he had the portion free he folded it, so that it could be placed on Neil’s wound to help stop the bleeding. He lifted Neil’s tunic, and as he did he got a better look at the wound. The sword had pierced very close to Neil’s side, around his bottom ribs. He didn’t have as much medical knowledge as he brother did, but he did know that at least the strike hadn’t landed near any of Neil’s vital organs.

He had to slightly lift Neil again in order to press one end of the cloth to Neil’s back where the sword had exited his body, then wrapped it around and placed the other end on the entry wound. Then he gently laid Neil back on the ground.

With that in place he went to work on cutting the rest of the cloak into strips.

Neil had yet to say anything since he had been stabbed, and Andrew needed something from him. Needed to just hear Neil’s voice. Needed to know he wasn’t too far gone already. He needed answers. “Why did you do that?”

Neil’s eyes had been clenched shut, but as Andrew spoke he opened them and looked up at him. It was a relief when his voice came out clearer and stronger than Andrew had expected. “Because he would have killed you.”

“So you decided to get yourself killed instead?” Andrew asked.

“I couldn’t let him hurt you,” Neil said voiced laced with pain and honesty.

Which was bull shit. Andrew was supposed to be the shield, he was supposed to be the one that stood between people and danger. He wasn’t supposed to be the person being protected. He had made himself into a weapon, because nobody had ever bothered to protect him before. 

Except Neil had done it twice now. “I don’t need your protection. Now stop talking.”

Neil of course didn’t do as Andrew told him. “You might now want it, but you obviously needed it.” He was quiet for a few seconds before speaking up again, “And I would do it again if it meant you would get home safely. No matter the consequence.”

Andrew really couldn’t listen to Neil saying things like that to him right now, especially not when the consequence was Neil laying on the ground bleeding out. “I said stop talking.”

“You asked,” Neil jabbed back at him before falling quiet again. However this time he kept his eyes open and silently stared up at Andrew as he worked.

After Andrew felt like he had cut enough strips, he needed to figure out a way to wrap them around Neil. He didn’t think Neil was capable of holding himself up, and the trees were too far away for him to risk attempting to move him. Which left him with only one option he would have to lean Neil against his own chest, and hold him up that way.

He dropped the knife and what remained of the cloak, and told Neil his plan. Neil looked a little wary of being maneuvered up that much, but agreed anyways.

Once Andrew had situated himself into a better position he began to carefully lift Neil up. Andrew wrapped his arms around Neil’s chest, and braced his hands on his back. He carefully lifted Neil into a seated position so that he wouldn’t cause him any more pain, and as he did Neil continued to firmly hold the makeshift patch in place against his wound. Once Neil was sitting up Andrew leaned him sideways against his chest, so that he was holding up all of Neil’s weight. Then he bent his knee up and placed it against Neil’s back to help secure him.

With Neil in place Andrew started to tie the strips around him. He worked in silence for a short while before he felt a slight movement from where Neil’s head had slumped down onto his shoulder, then heard Neil say, “What is the plan here Andrew?”

Andrew wanted to mock Neil for asking such a stupid question, especially since the answer was obvious. “I’m going to finish wrapping your wound, then we’re going to Fox Castle.”

Neil lifted his head off of his shoulder and Andrew could feel him looking intently at him. He continued tying strips as he waited for Neil to say whatever it was he wanted to say. When a few more seconds passed and Neil still hadn’t said anything Andrew looked up to meet his eyes. His eyes were so blue, and filled with so much pain right then that it physically hurt Andrew to look at them. He wanted to tear his eyes away, but forced himself to keep looking. “We both know I’m not going to make it that far like this,” Neil finally said.

Andrew couldn’t believe that. He wouldn’t believe that. Neil was still alive, they were going to get him to the castle, and he was going to be fine. He finally lost the battle with himself and broke their eye contact. He looked back down at his work and answered, “You will, even if I have to carry you.”

He could feel Neil shaking his head at his words, but refused to look up at him again. Even as Neil lifted his hand up towards Andrew’s face. His hand hovered in place beside Andrew’s cheek like he wanted to forcibly turn Andrew’s head in his direction, but would never touch him without permission

“Andrew look at me,” Neil finally said. While also moving his hand up to block Andrew’s line of sight, forcing him finally look up and meet Neil’s eyes again. “We both know that Romero and Jackson are looking for us, and if they find us with me in this condition I will only slow us down too much. Then neither of us will make it. If that happens promise me you’ll go on without me.”

“I’m not leaving you.” That was never going to happen. He was never going to leave Neil at the mercy of those who wanted to do him harm ever again.

“Why not?” Neil asked like he really couldn’t comprehend that someone would willingly put themselves at risk for him.

Andrew didn’t even dignify him with a response to such a stupid question. He just continued to tie the strips.

Even though Andrew was done with that conversation Neil wasn’t. “I was never supposed to make it to the Foxhole anyways, nothing would change.”

Andrew gestured down to the gaping wound in Neil’s side. “Things have clearly changed.”

He could feel Neil’s head move as he looked down at his abdomen. “We were supposed to part ways at the river anyways, why would leaving me here be any different?”

“Because you weren’t dying before.” Andrew really couldn’t believe that Neil didn’t understand how him being alive and fine compared to lying on the ground dying would make a difference to Andrew.

“Andrew….”

Whatever Neil was going to say Andrew didn’t want to hear it. He tried to keep the anger out of his voice, but didn’t think he succeeded as he said, “Shut up. You’re wasting energy.”

Surprisingly Neil actually stopped talking, and dropped his head back down on Andrew’s shoulder as he finished tying the rest of the strips. Once he was done he started to move so that he could stand up and they could leave, but Neil stopped him.

“Thank you,” Neil said and at first Andrew thought he was thanking him for tending to his wound, but then he continued. “This time I have spent with you has been amazing.”

Andrew jerked his head around so that he could meet Neil’s eyes. They were so close. Neil was still leaning fully against Andrew’s chest with his head lifted just barely off of his shoulder. Their faces were bare inches apart, and the open honest look he saw in Neil’s eyes had Andrew clenching his jaw in anger. “Don’t say things like that.”

“It’s true. This has been the first time since my mother has died that I haven’t felt alone.” 

“Neil stop.” This was clearly a goodbye and Andrew didn’t want to hear it.

Neil opened his mouth again, but the sounds of shouting in the distance startled them both. Andrew looked over his shoulder to make sure whoever was shouting hadn’t already entered the field. The field was still clear, and Neil’s voice drew him back to him again. “Their nearly here Andrew, you need to go.”

“I’m not leaving you here,” Andrew said as he tried to wrap his arms around Neil so that he could lift him up.

Neil held out his arms to block Andrew, and said, “Andrew, you have to leave me.”

“No.”

“Andrew, they are getting closer.”

Andrew could hear the shouting getting closer also, but nothing was going to make him move away from Neil. “I’m not leaving you.”

“Why not?” Neil asked. Starting to sound angry now that Andrew was refusing to leave.

“Because.”

“That’s not a reason.” Neil was practically yelling now.

“Because I’m not.”

“You can’t even give me a reason.”

That was true. Andrew couldn’t give Neil a reason, because there was no way for him to explain the all-encompassing need that was telling him to stay and protect Neil no matter the consequences. Neil had nothing and no one, and Andrew knew that feeling all too well. It was that same feeling which had caused him to grow to trust and understand Neil better than he had with anyone else.

Andrew couldn’t leave Neil without leaving a piece of himself behind with him, and he hated Neil for making him feel that way.

He must have stayed quiet for too long, because Neil started to open his mouth again. Andrew really was beyond listening to anything else he had to say. He needed Neil to not talk, but he also needed him to understand. He needed him to understand the reason Andrew could never leave him, so he reached out with his blood covered hand and grasped Neil’s jaw fiercely. Neil’s eyes went wide as Andrew tugged him forward and leaned in to meet him halfway.

Neil stiffened at first when Andrew pressed his lips bruisingly hard against his. Andrew almost pulled away, but then he felt the tension melt out of Neil’s body and he leaned further into Andrew.

The kiss of course couldn’t last long. The shouting had grown worryingly close now, and it sounded as if whoever was nearly to the field.

Andrew pulled away, and Neil looked dazed. He cataloged the look on Neil’s face in the back of his mind to think about later, but right now he needed to stand up and fight. Andrew lowered Neil back down to the ground, before grabbing his knives and turning to face whoever was coming.

He stood in front of Neil, knives raised, prepared to fight any number of Wesninski Knights in order to protect him as three riders broke through the treeline.

Except Andrew wasn’t going to have to fight, because the Knights were wearing orange and white.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, Okay it took me forever to write this chapter.
> 
> I don't have a lot of notes for this chapter. I just hope you enjoyed it!


	11. Chapter 11

When it became clear that it was in fact three of his fellow Fox Knights that had entered the field Andrew sheathed his knives into his armbands, then turned around in favor of going back to Neil’s side. As he turned a jolt of dread tore through his chest at the sight of Neil laying unmoving on the ground. Andrew rushed to cross the short distance between them, dropped to his knees, and found that Neil was unresponsive. He pressed his fingers to Neil’s throat needing to make sure he was still alive, and relaxed slightly when he felt a faint but still there pulse.

“Andrew?” Matt called out. The Foxes had crossed most of the field and were now close enough to be heard easily. Though Andrew chose to ignore the question in Matt’s tone, since the answer was directly in front of him.

“What happened here?” Dan questioned next, which Andrew also ignored.

“I’m glad to see you back home safely.” Renee greeted him. Causing Andrew to finally look over at them. Matt was staring wide eyed at him, Dan was looking between him and the two dead Wesninski Knights, and Renee had dismounted her horse and was walking towards him. 

As Renee got closer her calculating eyes flicked down to where his hands were holding onto Neil. Out of all the Fox Knights Renee knew and understood him best, which meant she could see that his hold on Neil was gentle and protective, not cruel. Most of the other Foxes only believed him to be capable of being cruel and violent, which suited him just fine.

Renee flicked her eyes back up to meet Andrew’s and asked, “Is he alive?”

Andrew gave her a quick nod in answer, as Renee knelt down beside him. It only took her only a moment to realize how badly Neil was hurt, then she was turning back to look at Dan and Matt. “This man is alive, but in pretty bad condition. We need to get him to Abby as quickly as possible.”

Dan who had been inspecting the body of one of the Wesninski Knights turned at Renee’s words, and hurried over to them. She looked over Neil assessingly for a second before looking back at Matt who was still on his horse. “Do you think you could carry him back?” She asked.

Matt rode closer and nodded. “Yeah, of course. Should be an easy fit.”

“Is that okay with you Andrew?” Renee asked. She knew how deep his protective streak went, and that he might not be okay with letting Neil be handled by someone else. It was true that a part of Andrew didn’t want to let Matt carry Neil, but his more rational side had him nodding anyways because he knew that it would be much easier for Matt with his extra height and longer arms.

With his agreement Dan, Renee, and Andrew worked together to carefully lift Neil, and carry him over to Matt. Once Neil was safely secured on the saddle Matt took off at a quick pace towards Fox Castle. 

Andrew’s body grew more and more tense as he watched Matt get further and further away with Neil. “Andrew,” Renee called out, but Andrew couldn’t tear his eyes away to look at her. She continued anyways, “You can take my horse and follow Matt. Dan and I will handle things here.”

Andrew didn’t even spare her a nod of acknowledgement this time, just moved to mount her horse, and rode off.

He caught up to them quickly, since Matt was riding at a slower place so as to not jostle Neil too much. They rode in silence and soon reached the outskirts of Palmetto. A short time after that they were racing through the castle gates.

Once they reached the main castle doors Andrew jumped down and ran over to help Matt ease himself off his horse with Neil still cradled in his arms. With Matt on the ground Andrew threw open the doors, and they raced their way through the castle.

At one point he heard someone who sounded like Seth call out, “What the fuck? Minyard?”, but Matt and Andrew both ignored him as they continued to run through the castle halls towards the infirmary.

When they reached the medical room Andrew slammed the door open wide enough for Matt to easily carry Neil in. Abby, thankfully already inside, jumped up at the loud sound. Her eyes went wide in surprise to see Andrew standing in her door, but before she could say anything to him Matt pushed forward. Her eyes were immediately drawn to Neil, and Andrew could see the exact second her face shifted into serious mode. She jabbed a finger at one of the beds and told Matt, “Set him down there.”

Matt did as she commanded then stepped away. Abby was quickly at Neil’s side checking his pulse, breathing, then moving down to where Andrew had tied the makeshift patch to his side. “What happened to him?”

“He was stabbed with a sword, I did my best to stop the bleeding.” Andrew answered her.

As soon as he finished talking Andrew heard a chair scraping against the ground in the adjoining workroom, then Aaron was suddenly bursting through the doorway. When his eyes locked with Andrew’s he came to an abrupt halt. He stared mouth slightly agape like he couldn’t actually believe that Andrew was standing right in front of him. Andrew looked back at him calmly. He knew his face wouldn’t betray his emotions, but a part of him relaxed at seeing that Aaron had kept safe during the nearly five weeks Andrew had been gone.

After a few seconds more of just staring Aaron jolted forward and crossed the room with shaky steps to stand in front of him. His brow furrowed in misplaced concern as he took in all the blood that covered Andrew’s clothes, arms, and hands. 

Aaron’s arms lifted, like he wanted to check Andrew all over for injuries, but aborted the movement before actually touched him. Instead he maintained the small distance and gestured towards Andrew as he asked, “It that your blood? Did someone hurt you?”

Andrew could have laughed at the panic in his brother’s tone. Aaron and he hardly even spoke to each other much less showed outright worry, but right now wasn’t the time for him to muse over Aaron’s newfound care. Aaron was Abby’s assistant and she was going to need his help if they had any hope of keeping Neil alive. So Andrew pushed past his brother to stand beside Neil’s bedside and gestured down at him as an answer. 

Aaron took a moment to study Neil. Unlike Abby he didn’t automatically jump at the thought of helping a stranger. Instead he asked, “Who is that?”

“It doesn’t matter. He needs our help,” Abby answered before Andrew could. “I need you to bring me our kit, then get some water boiling.” Aaron didn’t move away immediately. His keen gaze roved over Andrew for just a few seconds more as he finally convinced himself that he really was back and unharmed. Then he hurried back to the other room to do what Abby asked.

With Aaron out of the room, Andrew turned his full attention back to Neil. Abby had grabbed some clean cloth and started to untie the patch from his side. Andrew’s trepidation over whether Neil would survive or not increased when he noticed that blood had already begun to soak through the patch. He didn’t want to even fathom the possibility that Neil could make it all the way to the Foxhole and still die due to blood loss.

Andrew was forced to move away when Aaron came back out of the other room and took his place beside Abby. Andrew only moved far enough back so that he was out of their way, but stayed close enough so that he could still see Neil. When Matt, who had been lingering back by the door, noticed that Andrew wasn’t going to leave he said, “Come on Andrew. You know we aren’t supposed to be in here while they work, let’s give them some space.”

Andrew didn’t budge or even indicate that he had heard Matt at all. He didn’t want to let Neil out of his sight, even though he knew he would be safe in Aaron and Abby’s hands.

After being ignored Matt stepped forward, and reached out to grab Andrew’s arm. The moment Matt’s hand made contact with him Andrew jerked away, while also instinctively reaching for one of his knives. Of course he came up empty handed, but Matt was familiar enough with the movement to understand what Andrew’s intent had been. He held his hands up in a placating manner and took a step back away from him.

Abby had never let her intense focus leave Neil, but still somehow managed to know what was going on behind her. “Andrew, he is right this could take some time, and it would be easier for us to work if you waited outside.”

Abby hadn’t outright told him to get out, but Andrew knew she wasn’t making a suggestion. So he took one last long look at Neil and then begrudgingly forced himself to leave the room. Matt had already left and was halfway down the hallway by the time Andrew shut the infirmary door. Andrew wasn’t capable of moving any further, and sank down to the floor to wait.

*

It felt like he had been waiting for hours, since he sat down outside the infirmary. Although in truth he had no idea how much time had actually passed. He was too exhausted from the long journey, and from worrying about Neil’s chances of survival to be able to keep track of time.

During his wait he had mostly been trying to keep his mind cleared of all thoughts of Neil, but of course images of Neil had unhelpfully kept popping up. Images like the first time Neil had stepped into his dungeon cell, when he had attacked Drake with his sword, the dazed look Neil had after Andrew had kissed him, Neil lying on the ground ashen and covered with his own blood. He hated that his thoughts always circled back to images of Neil pale and dying. 

Moments of reprieve from his own thoughts came when the Foxes who hadn’t already seen him for themselves had come up. He didn’t have the energy to speak to any of them, but that hadn’t stopped them from trying. Seth and Allison had given up quickly, but Nicky had incessantly attempted to get Andrew to talk to him.

Once Nicky finally left Andrew was only alone for a short while before Bee showed up. She had only needed a brief glance at his face for her to understand what kind of mood he was in. After that she had smiled reassuringly at him, told him she was happy he was safely home again, then left also. Though she did come back a short time later with a plate of his favorite sweets. She sat it on the ground beside him, then said, “David and Kevin are at a meeting in town, I’m going to go let them know that you’re back home. Is that okay, or do you want me to stay?”

Andrew managed to slightly lift his hand off his lap and make a go on gesture. Bee accepted this and left, leaving Andrew alone again with his thoughts.

A slightly longer time passed before he had another visitor, this time it was Renee. She sat down on the ground beside him and turned to face him. “I have your knives,” she said as she held out all eight of them. Andrew took them from her, noted that they had been cleaned of the Wesninski Knight’s blood, then sheathed them back into their rightful places. She took one of the sweets off the plate and ate it. She then took another and offered it to Andrew. After a moment he took it and ate also. They sat in silence together, eating sweets, and waiting for the door to open.

It was quite some time before the door opened. Aaron came out and looked over to where Andrew and Renee were sitting against the wall. He looked exhausted, but beyond that his face betrayed nothing else. Andrew didn’t wait for Aaron to say anything, just jumped to his feet and pushed past him through the door

Andrew made it halfway into the room before he had to stop. His hands had started to tremble, and he couldn’t bring himself to move any closer to Neil in fear that the worst had happened. Abby was sitting on a stool by Neil’s bed blocking his view of him. When she heard him enter the room she looked back at him and smiled. “He’s lucky. He’s going to live.”

When Neil had been stabbed Andrew had felt like his world had rocked sideways and now Abby’s words just sifted everything back into place. With that sense of correctness returned he finally brought himself to finish crossing the short distance to the bed Neil lay in, and looked down at him. His abdomen was wrapped in a clean gauze and the steady rise and fall of his chest helped to set Andrew at ease.

Abby had started to clean the blood from Neil’s skin, and Andrew watched in silence as she carefully worked. Neil’s skin was still very pale from the blood loss, and Andrew’s attention was transfixed on the bloody handprint he had left on Neil’s chin.

Andrew lived his life without regret. He saw no point in doing so, since there was nothing anyone could do to change the past. However now that his mind wasn’t clouded with adrenaline, fear, want, need, and near death a creeping doubt began to settle in. He had kissed Neil without asking, without making his intentions known at all. Although Neil hadn’t pushed him away, Andrew knew that Neil’s own mind hadn’t been clear enough to make that kind of decision either.

Abby wiped his handprint from Neil’s skin, and Andrew almost wished she could wipe away all of his tumultuous feelings associated with it.

With a sudden abruptness he realized he couldn’t be in that room any longer, couldn’t even look at Neil any longer. Neil was causing feelings Andrew thought he had long since repressed to rise up and break open in his chest. He needed to get out, needed to get away from Neil. Maybe distance would help him think, help him clear his head again. He stepped back away from Neil’s bed, and turned to push back out of the door. He could feel Aaron and Renee watching his every move, but didn’t slow in his retreat.

He headed to his room, where he could lock the door and everyone else out with it. Once he was inside he only briefly glanced around before dropping heavily onto his bed.

Again he tried to keep himself from thinking about Neil, about long dead hopes, about a boy who had forged himself into a knife blade, about that same boy who had never been allowed to keep anything he wanted.

Again he failed.

*

Again time got away from him, and he didn’t know how long it had been before a loud knock reverberated against his door. “Minyard you better open this door right the fuck now,” Wymack called.

Andrew knew Wymack wouldn’t let himself be ignored, so he rose up from his bed and opened the door.

Wymack was standing alone outside of his door, with his arms crossed over his broad chest. He only gave Andrew a brief once over before saying, “So it’s true. You really did escape Wesninski Castle and walked all the way back here.”

Andrew didn’t answer. Just crossed his arms over his chest and mirrored Wymack’s stance. Wymack raised at single eyebrow at this, but didn’t bother saying anything about it. Instead he continued, “I also heard you dragged a nearly dead stray with you through my doors.”

“Technically Matt carried him through your doors,” Andrew answered with deadpan sarcasm.

Wymack scrubbed a hand down his face and said, “I see you are still just as difficult as always. You know what I mean, who exactly is this kid?”

Who was he indeed? The answer was something Andrew had been thinking a lot about. He wasn’t sure how the Foxes would take to hearing the truth about Neil’s past, and Andrew wasn’t prepared for them to throw him out because of it. On the other hand this was Wymack’s castle and Andrew owed him the truth. Just maybe not all of it right away. “He was a Wesninski Knight who helped me escape.”

“And I’m guessing he wants to seek refuge from the Wesninskis here?”

Andrew nodded.

“Great another mouth to feed,” Wymack gruffed. Although Andrew knew it was just a show, Wymack would willingly go hungry himself if it meant he could give someone else a chance to start over.

So Andrew ignored Wymack’s bellyaching and chose to ask instead, “Is it true that the Wesninski’s demanded my return and you refused?”

Without hesitation Wymack answered, “Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because they are a bunch of self-important assholes who think they can do whatever they want, even though they falsely imprisoned you…”

“No,” Andrew cut him off. “I mean why did you refuse them?”

Wymack studied him for a moment before answering, “Because even if you do have a shitty attitude and threaten everyone else on a weekly basis you are still one of my Foxes.”

“One person is not worth the whole kingdom’s safety.”

“Would you be saying that if it was Kevin or Aaron?” Wymack countered him.

Andrew knew his answer. He had promised to protect Kevin from the Moriyama Kingdom and would do the same for Aaron. Wymack knew his answer too, so he didn’t bother saying anything.

“Exactly.” Wymack held Andrew’s eye contact for a few moments longer before breaking it and scrubbing both hands down his face. “Besides this whole thing is my fault anyways. I should never have sent you and Kevin there to begin with.”

Andrew knew Wymack wasn’t looking for any false sincerities, and Andrew wasn’t the type to give them anyways. Wymack was just owning the fact that he had messed up and that all the consequences from that decision rested on his shoulders. Besides it was too late to change anything now, all they could do was decide how to best handle things going forward.

“So what’s the plan?” Andrew asked instead.

“Now that is a damn good question.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter should be titled pretending that Medieval Doctors had much better medical practices/more knowledge than they actually did.  
> So this chapter is slightly shorter than the last few, but I wanted it to be focused on Neil’s survival. The next chapter will pick up where this one left off.  
> Timeline in case anyone is wondering. – I myself had to go back through and calculate it.  
> Days 1-3: Kevin and Andrew leave the Foxhole and are traveling for that time.  
> Day 4 - They spent the night in the Wesninski Village and leave that day. They are then attacked by Wesninski Knights and Andrew is captured.  
> Day 5 - Andrew is knocked out and Romero and Jackson ride all night to bring him to Wesninski Castle. He wakes up later in the day after Nathaniel has already tended to his leg wound.  
> Days 6-17 – Andrew is being held in the dungeon, Nathaniel comes and talks to him every day.  
> Day 18 – Drake arrives from the Moriyama kingdom, Andrew kills him, him and Neil escape.  
> Days 19-22 – They travel. On day 22 they are ambushed by the Wesninski Knights.  
> Days 23-33 – They are travelling. On day 33 they arrive at the outskirts of the village and are spotted by Jackson.
> 
> So originally I had in my outline that chapter 9, chapter 10, and the part where the foxes show up and Matt carries Neil off in chapter 11 were all going to be a single chapter. I checked the word count, it would have been 10,000 words.


	12. Chapter 12

“Nathan is obviously planning something. No offense but I don’t think even he would be willing to start a war over just one person.” Wymack added, “Even if you did actually kill his son.”

The look Wymack sent Andrew after that was clearly questioning, but he hadn’t outright asked so Andrew wasn’t going to answer. Instead he said, “So he is just using me as an excuse to attack us, and in doing so making sure the other allied kingdom’s do not have to honor their agreement.”

“Seems like the most likely case to me.” Wymack said. “I’ve already sent out messages to all of our allied kingdom’s explaining the situation, and asking them to stand with us against the Wesninskis anyways. I haven’t got any responses yet, but I have a pretty good guess as to who will aid us.”

“Will it be enough?” Andrew asked.

“Against just the Wesninskis? Maybe, but if they get the Moriyama’s involved also. I’m not so sure.” Wymack answered him truthfully.

Andrew thought about the possibility of them having a war on their hands soon with the Foxes on the frontline, and didn’t like the images that were popping up in his head. Andrew had cared for a very few amount of people in his life most of whom were currently Foxes, and he couldn’t lose any of them.

Judging by the look on Wymack’s face he was probably thinking about the same thing. “Okay, that’s enough doom and gloom for today. Get some rest, I’m giving you one day to recover then your back on duty.”

After Wymack left Andrew collapsed back onto his bed again. In the safety of his own room with the door securely locked Andrew fell asleep faster and slept better than he had in the past month.

*

He was woken up an undetermined amount of time later by loud incessant knocking on his door. His room was dark, which meant he had at least slept for a few hours.

Andrew stomped to his door and yanked it open. He found a perturbed looking Kevin standing outside. Without any preamble Kevin pushed passed Andrew and into his room.

“How could you bring him here?” Kevin asked as soon as he had slammed the door closed.

Andrew had to assume that Kevin had stopped by the infirmary and seen his old training companion lying unconscious in the sickbed. He wondered if Kevin already had his meltdown over seeing someone he associated with Riko here, or if the meltdown was going to happen now.

“Who exactly are we talking about?” Andrew asked with faux innocence. He was annoyed at Kevin for waking him up in the middle of the night, and wasn’t going to make this conversation easy on him.

“The...the boy downstairs with Abby. In the infirmary.” Kevin said as he gestured wildly with his hands. 

“Oh, you mean Neil?”

“Neil?” Kevin repeated back, sounding confused.

“Yes, Neil Josten the Wesninski Knight who helped me escape.”

“Neil Josten?” Kevin repeated his name again. Then started to shake his head. “No…. His name isn’t Neil Josten. That’s Natha….”

Before Kevin could finish that name Andrew brought his hand up and covered his mouth. “Shhh Kevin. His name is Neil Josten now, and he has only ever been a lowly knight.”

Kevin’s eyebrows furrowed, and he wrenched his head backwards out of Andrew’s grasp. “So you do know who he is.”

“Was,” Andrew corrected.

Kevin continued on like he hadn’t heard him. “If you know who he is, how could you bring him here? His father will come for him.”

“Oh haven’t you heard Kevin, his father is already coming.”

“But….”

“But nothing,” Andrew interrupted. Kevin was starting to piss him off. “How can you of all people stand here and ask that. Or did you forget that you did the exact same thing two years ago.”

“That was different,” Kevin interjected.

“How?”

“Riko never came.”

“And Lord Wesninski was planning on starting a war with us whether Neil made it here or not.”

Kevin opened his mouth like he wanted to argue more, but Andrew cut him off. “No. We are not talking about this anymore. He is staying, and you are not going to tell people who his father is. Do you understand?”

Kevin glared at him for a moment longer, then he scrubbed a hand down his face and nodded.

“Good. Now get out,” Andrew demanded as he opened the door.

Kevin stepped halfway out of the open door before stopping. He turned his head to glance back over his shoulder at Andrew, but didn’t meet his gaze as said, “Thank you for not letting the Wesninski Knights take me.”

Andrew gritted his teeth. He did not need Kevin’s thanks when he was just holding up his end of their deal, and he told Kevin as much. Kevin didn’t meet his gaze again as he nodded his head and finally stepped completely out of the door. 

-

Neil blearily opened his eyes, but couldn’t keep them open for long. They fluttered open and shut a few times before he managed to get a good look around himself. Though it didn’t matter much, because everything was fuzzy and out of focus. From what he could see he was in a dark room that he didn’t recognize. He tried to remember where he was or what had happened to him, but his head felt just as fuzzy as the room looked.

His eyes continued to roam around the room listlessly until they finally caught on a figure in the doorway. The man was short and the moonlight coming in through the window shown off his pale hair. The sight caused a burst of emotions in Neil’s chest that he couldn’t name, and a tingle in the back of his mind of memories that wouldn’t form in his semi-wakeful state. His eyes closed as he slowly moved his head to get a better look, and when he opened them again the doorway was empty.

Neil wondered if the man had been standing there at all, or if he had imagined him as his eyes fell closed again and remained that way for the rest of the night.

*

Neil awoke to the sound of unfamiliar voices. After years of surviving torment and torture at the hands of Riko and his father’s men he had learned that after waking in an unfamiliar environment to stay perfectly still and pretend to still be unconscious until he could figure out what was going on around him. So he made sure his breathing stayed even and his body appeared relaxed as he listened in on the conversation.

“It’s already been three days, how long is this kid going to be out?” A man asked harshly.

“David, he sustained a serious injury,” a woman’s voice chided back. “Plus I have been giving him a potent herbal draught to help with the healing, which has contributed to his prolonged sleep. I lowered the dose this morning, so hopefully he will be waking up soon.”

“Good. I’ve got questions for him to answer, since Minyard is being unhelpful.”

“That’s not uncommon,” the woman said with a slight laugh. “What has he told you so far about his capture?”

“Absolutely nothing beyond that this kid was a Wesninski Knight that helped him escaped.”

“You don’t believe him?” The woman asked. Clearly picking up on the note of disbelief in the man’s voice.

“I do.” He quickly answered. Then after a pause added, “It’s just that this so called knight looks a lot like...”

Neil’s whole body flinched in preparation for the man to say his father’s name. Then his breath shuttered out as he thought about what would happen if this man realized he was Nathan’s son.

Thankfully the man never finished that sentence, instead Neil heard footsteps getting closer. Once they reached his bedside the man said, “How long have you been awake?”

Neil’s eyes flew open and his vision was filled by a large angry man towering over him. His arms raised up instinctually to ward off the blows he knew would soon be coming.

Except a blow never came, instead the man took a couple of steps back and lowered his voice as he said, “Hey now calm down. Nothing is going to happen to you here. I’m Lord Wymack, you’re at Fox Castle. You travelled here with Andrew, what do you remember?” 

At the sound of Andrew’s name Neil’s eyes started to dart around the room in hopes that he was nearby. Wymack must have noticed. “Andrew isn’t here right now, he is out on patrol.”

Neil really wished Andrew was here so he could have someone familiar with him in this situation, but he knew Andrew wouldn’t have left him alone with these people unless he was safe with them. So he lowered his arms and worked to calm his breathing. A woman pushed passed Lord Wymack and sat on the stool beside his bed. “Hello I’m Abby Winfield I’m the Foxhole Court’s doctor. Do you remember how you got here?”

Neil nodded.

Which must not have been a good enough answer for Lord Wymack, because he barked out, “Could you elaborate on that.”

The loudness of the man’s voice caused Neil to flinch again, and Abby turned to give Wymack a disapproving look. Wymack raised his hands up in surrender and took a few more steps back. Abby then turned back to Neil. “If you’re feeling up to it could you tell us about it?”

Neil tried to talk, but his throat was hoarse from disuse. Abby immediately jumped up to grab him a cup of water. After he had finished it he tried again. “We escaped the castle together, and traveled through the forest. We were found and attacked once in the forest and once again outside the trading village. There we fought them, but one managed to ride away for help. We ran, but they followed us across the river. We had to fight them again, that’s when I was stabbed. After that I don’t remember what happened.”

“God Dammit.” Wymack roared once Neil was done with his story. “Those bastards think they can do whatever they want. Chasing one of my nights onto my own lands. If I could I would march over to Wesninski Castle and punch Nathan in the face myself.” 

Neil’s eyes went wide. Abby must have thought that Wymack’s outburst had startled him again, but it was actually the thought of anyone punching his father in the face. “David,” she chided him again, “Calm down.”

“Yeah Wymack I could hear you yelling all the way down the hall,” a familiar voice said, although something seemed slightly off. Neil looked up at the man who had just entered the room and felt himself relaxing at the mere sight of him, but after studying him for a second longer he realized that he wasn’t who he thought.

“You’re Aaron.”

The room went quiet, and he could tell by the shock on not only Aaron’s face but also Wymack’s and Abby’s that he had surprised them.

“I am,” Aaron finally responded.

“I’m surprised you could tell them apart so quickly, especially since Aaron’s tunic is covering where Andrew wears his armbands.” Abby said.

Neil looked down at Aaron’s arms, and noticed that his forearms were in fact covered. It wouldn’t have mattered anyways, Aaron could have been wearing a matching set to Andrew’s and Neil still would have been able to tell the difference. It was obvious to him that this wasn’t the man he had spent the last month with, but Neil wasn’t about to go into detail explaining the slight differences in their faces, stance, and voice. So he just raised one shoulder in a shrug and looked away from Aaron and back at Abby. 

Behind Abby Wymack was giving him a piercing look. “So you know who Aaron is. What else do you know about my kingdom?”

Neil didn’t really think that telling Wymack he knew almost everything about his kingdom from his great great grandfather who founded it down to how much wheat the northern field produced would be beneficial to his situation. So instead he went with a simpler answer. “Andrew told me some stuff.” He paused for a moment then added, “I had already learned some about it from the other Wesninski Knights, and I told all of the important information they knew to Andrew. So you can ask him about it.”

He heard a derisive snort come from Aaron, “You really think Andrew is going to tell us anything just because we ask?”

“If it’s for the good of the kingdom he will,” Neil told him voice slightly raised at how quickly Aaron was to dismiss his brother.

Aaron actually laughed at this. It was a sarcastic humorless laugh, but Neil was still struck by how odd it was to see on an exact replica of Andrew’s face. He was so caught off guard that he nearly missed what Aaron said next. “You obviously don’t know him very well.” 

When Aaron’s assertion fully registered it immediately pissed Neil off. He began pushing his hands against the bed, so that he could be sitting up when he told Aaron just what he thought of that statement. If Aaron didn’t think Andrew would do whatever he could possible do to protect the people he cared about, then it wasn’t Neil who didn’t know Andrew well enough.

Neil only managed to slightly lift his head and shoulders up when an intense pain tore through his abdomen. He collapsed the few inches back down onto the bed, and Abby was quick to begin checking over his injury. He tried and failed to lift himself up again, and just the attempts left him too winded to speak. So he settled for glaring his indignation at Aaron instead.

Abby could clearly tell that Aaron’s presence was upsetting Neil. So she told him, “Aaron would you please go start working on Neil’s draught for this evening.”

Aaron didn’t say anything as he disappeared into the adjoining room shutting the door behind him. Neil continued to glare at the closed door.

Wymack obviously tired of being ignored snapped his fingers twice to get his attention. Neil drug his eyes away from the door and back to Wymack as he said, “Aaron’s right. Getting anything from his brother can be unnecessarily difficult, but you’re here now so why don’t you tell me what I want to know.”

“I’m tired,” Neil answered. Which was true. Even though he had been conscious for probably less than ten minutes he felt like he was going to fall asleep again any second now. Also he wasn’t sure how much information he should give away to Wymack. Not enough could be detrimental, but too much could look suspicious. So he was going to trust in Andrew to give Wymack the exact information he needed.

Abby placed her hand on his shoulder in probably what she assumed was a comforting gesture. “It’s going to be pretty normal for you to be tired and sleeping a lot for the next few days, and I’m going to keep you here for the next week possibly longer so that you can heal completely.”

“A week?” 

Wymack huffed at Neil’s obvious displeasure of being kept in bed for a week. “Boy, a sword went through you and came out the other side. You’re lucky to be alive at all, so I don’t want to hear any complaining. Plus you should be grateful that you’re getting to laze around for a week, because after that your duties as a Fox Knight will start.”

“Fox Knight?” Neil repeated back to him confused.

“Yeah Minyard said you’re a knight, correct?”

Neil nodded.

“So if you’re a knight and you’re here, what does that make you now?”

Neil wasn’t sure he could even believe what Wymack was saying, so he just continued to stare up at him.

“Can you not hear, or are you just dumb?” Wymack asked. He didn’t wait for an answer though. “Let me spell it out for you. You are now a Fox Knight, Welcome to the Foxhole Court kid.”

“I’m a Fox?” Neil asked mystified. Wymack let out a huff and scrubbed a hand down his face. He looked like he was about to start explaining everything all over again. That or curse Neil’s stupidity, but before he could say anything Neil stopped him with a soft, “Thank you.”

There was a beat of silence then Abby smiled softly back at him, and Wymack let out a bark of a laugh as he said, “You’ll think twice about thanking me after you’ve had to do a night watch with Allison and Seth.”

Neil didn’t know what to say or do anymore. He was away from his father and the Moriyamas, and had a place he could belong to with people he trusted. He was kind of overwhelmed, everything about this moment was more affectionate than anything he had ever experienced in his life before. 

Abby stood, placed a hand on Wymack’s arm, and began to guide him towards the door. “We will leave you alone so you can get some more sleep. If you need anything Aaron is next door.”

Neil fell asleep again quickly after that. He dreamed of his father and Riko standing against him, but instead of being alone he was surrounded by people wearing orange and white.

*

Neil had woken up a few more times that first day, mostly for short periods before falling back asleep again. The longest period he had stayed awake for was when Abby brought him some stew to eat. It was mostly broth and vegetables, but he had still found it difficult to eat by himself and she had to help him more often than not. 

That night he woke once again to find a familiar figure standing in his doorway, but this time the figure was tall and had dark hair. It had been two years since Neil had seen him, but even so the man was easy to recognize.

“Kevin.”

Kevin jolted at the sound, probably not expecting Neil to have woken up. He pushed off the doorframe and walked further into the room. As he approached Neil could see that he looked the same, except his face was maybe a little more haunted looking. Or maybe that was just the shadows darkening his features.

“Nathaniel...” Kevin started, but Neil cut him off.

“Don’t.”

“But, that’s your name,” Kevin accused.

“Not anymore. I’m sure you’ve heard I’m Neil Josten now.”

Kevin shook his head. “You can’t just run away and start a new life.”

“Why not? You did it.” Neil said petulantly.

Kevin continued to shake his head. “No, it’s not the same. They knew exactly who I was when I came here, I never lied to them.”

It was true. Kevin and his situations were similar, but also vastly different. Neil was coming here a lie, and probably putting everyone at risk by doing so. Kevin had come here a broken version of himself, but he had come here as Kevin Day and the Foxes had known the risk when they offered him a home here.

Still even if Kevin was right that didn’t mean Neil wanted to hear it, so he brought up something he knew would get Kevin’s mind off the subject. “Really? Does Lord Wymack know why you choose his kingdom to run too?”

Kevin took a step back like Neil’s words had hit him like a physical blow, “How do you know that? Who told you?”

“Jean showed me the letters,” Neil said coldly. Knowing that just saying Jean’s name would have an effect on Kevin.

And it did. Kevin paled, and had to try twice before he managed to choke out, “How is he?”

“Alive.” Neil answered and knew that Kevin would understood what Neil didn’t say, couldn’t say. Jean’s situation with the Ravens had always been bad, but after Kevin left it had gotten much worse.

“What did Riko do to him after...” Kevin let the sentence trail off. He couldn’t even bring himself to say after he left Jean behind with Riko.

“I wasn’t there,” Neil pointed out. It was a fact he had always been grateful for, he wasn’t sure he would have survived Riko’s fury if he had been.

Kevin started to say something, but Neil cut him off again. “I did hear that Tetsuji just barely restrained Riko from killing him on multiple occasions in the weeks following though.”

Kevin paled even further. He took a faltering step forward, and leaned over to brace himself on the table beside Neil’s bed. “I had to go, I had to get away from Riko. He was never going to stop, he would have kept crippling me until I was useless.”

“Stop it.” Neil demanded of him. He hated hearing Kevin sounding defeated.

“I had to.” Kevin choked out one more time.

“I know,” Neil said to him. “And I understand why you left, but I don’t want to hear you whining about it now. You knew leaving would have consequences and you still made that choice. Accept it and live with it.”

Kevin said nothing to this just stared down at the table where he was clenching and unclenching his left hand.

After a few minutes spent in silence Neil asked, “Are you going to tell them?”

Kevin pushed himself upright and said, “No, Andrew’s right. Your father is planning on attacking us whether you’re here or not, so it makes no difference.”

At hearing that Kevin had recently talked with Andrew Neil felt an irrational sense of jealousy streak through his chest. He had been expecting to see Andrew every time he had woken up that day, but so far he hadn’t come by. Neil wasn’t sure if his duty with the Foxhole had been keeping Andrew away, or if it was something else. They didn’t have a deal like Andrew and Kevin did, so there was the possibility that Andrew would be done with him now that Neil had fulfilled his promise to him. He hoped that wouldn’t be the case, and couldn’t stop himself from asking, “Does he know I’m awake?”

“Yes, Wymack told all of us,” he said quickly. Then added, “but he also said no visitors yet.”

“Your here,” Neil pointed out. He didn’t mean it to be rude, just that if Kevin hadn’t let Wymack’s rule stop him than neither would Andrew.

Kevin only shrugged in answer. It was obvious that he held no secret insight into Andrew’s mind or actions, so Neil let the subject drop. After that they discussed some lighter subjects like Neil’s training and about how well all the Foxes were comparatively. Kevin left not much later, and Neil fell back asleep quickly.

*

The next morning Neil woke to the sound of voices again. Knowing where he was and that he was safe he opened his eyes to see who was in his room this time.

“He isn’t supposed to have visitors yet.” Aaron was telling a much taller man than him with tan skin and dark hair.

“I know, but I just want to look at him.” The man pleaded.

“Fine. You can look, but then you have to leave,” Aaron said as he stepped out of the doorway where he had been blocking the other man’s path.

The man stepped around Aaron and his eyes landed on Neil. “Oh, you’re awake.”

Aaron turned at the other man’s words and looked over to Neil also. Neil knew he was training under Abby, but his eyes held none of the caring kindness hers did. His mostly just looked suspicious of him.

The taller man approached Neil’s bed and introduced himself, “I’m Nicky Hemmick, Andrew and Aaron’s cousin.” Neil looked between Nicky and Aaron and saw absolutely no family resemblance, and wished he could be so lucky.

“I’m Neil Josten,” he introduced himself as. It was the first time he had done so, and the lie tasted like ash on his tongue.

“Oh, I know. I’ve heard all about you,” Nicky said then stopped and amended, “Actually no. All we have heard about you is your name and that you used to be a Wesninski Knight. Andrew won’t tell us anything more.”

Neil was grateful for that. “Where is Andrew?”

Nicky’s brows furrowed for a moment before smoothing back out as he said, “I think he is off on patrol with Renee. But you don’t need to worry about him anymore, because now that you’re here you can spend time with me the more fun cousin.” Then finished his sentence with a flourished bow and a wink.

Neil wasn’t sure how to respond to that mostly because he had actually enjoyed spending time with Andrew, so he didn’t say anything. Anyways his silence didn’t deter Nicky in the slightest. “Speaking of fun, maybe you and I could have a little ourselves. If you know what I mean,” Nicky said with another exaggerated wink.

Neil in fact did not know what he meant, so he continued to silently stare back at Nicky.

Nicky’s wide smile wavered for a second before he plastered it back on his face. With a sly tilt to his mouth and with a mock whisper he added, “You know, just me and you alone having some fun in the bedroom.”

That Neil understood, he had spent enough time with the Ravens to know what Nicky was insinuating. Even if he understood what Nicky meant he couldn’t understand why he would be offering something like that, they had just met. So Neil answered him truthfully, “No, I’m not interested in that.”

“Damn,” Nicky pouted. “Well if you’re only into girls then there are quite a few in town, and Allison probably wouldn’t be opposed to hooking up with you whenever her and Seth are broken up.”

“I’m not interested in doing anything with any girls either.”

“What,” Nicky screeched out. “No girls or guys? How is that even possible? You’re young, you have to be interested in one or the other. Or both.”

Neil didn’t understand why Nicky was still talking about this like it was the most important thing they could be talking about right now. Neil was lying in a bed with a sword wound through his abdomen and his father was planning on attacking the Foxhole Court soon, obviously they had bigger things to worry about. “I’ve just never liked either before,” Neil said hoping it would end this conversation.

Instead it did the opposite and Nicky perked up again. “Oh well if that’s the case you can just spend a little time with me and together we can change that.”

Neil was really done now. Nicky had completely missed his point, and Neil was never going to take him up on his offer. Luckily it seemed like Aaron was also done, because he grabbed Nicky by the arm and started to haul him back towards the door. “Get out Nicky,” he said as he threw Nicky out of the room and slammed the door in his face. Aaron then turned back and headed towards the other room. As he reached the door he told Neil, “If you need anything I’ll be in here.” With that Aaron closed the door behind him, and Neil was alone again.

*

For the most of that day Neil had been left alone. Abby had come in twice to bring him some food and change his bandages. He was still trying to get over the fact that both Abby and Aaron had seen his scars. Abby had tried to ask him about them once, but he had cut her off with a quick lie. Aaron hadn’t said anything about them yet.

The last time Abby had come in for the night she asked him if he felt up to receiving visitors the next day. The Foxes were apparently eager to meet him, and she and Wymack were having difficulties keeping them at bay. Neil agreed just so he wouldn’t be woken up again with more unexpected visitors.

The next morning after breakfast the Foxes, except for Kevin and Andrew, came in to see him as a group. After they had introduced themselves, during which Nicky pretended like he hadn’t met him the day before, till now they had asked Neil more questions about himself than he had ever been asked before. It was a good thing that Abby had given him a warning about their visit, because it had given him enough time to think of a good backstory for himself. Now he just had to hope that Andrew wouldn’t say anything to contradict it until they talked again.

“I’m sorry you meet Andrew first.” Dan said once there was a break in all the questions. “Hopefully that won’t ruin your opinion on all of the rest of us.”

Neil looked from Nicky to Aaron to see if they were going to stick up for Andrew since he was family, but Aaron was busy actively ignoring the whole conversation and Nicky was nodding his head along in agreement.

Neil looked back to Dan, but before he could answer Allison spoke up first, “Yeah, can you imagine having to travel for two whole weeks with only Andrew for company. It must have been awful.”

“Allison,” Renee chided her.

“It was fine,” Neil finally got a chance to say. He knew it was a simple answer, but he didn’t want to have to explain to them how those two weeks had been some of the best ones in his whole life.

“That’s nice,” Renee told him like she understand anyways.

“Nice?” Matt questioned her. “He didn’t say it was nice, he said it was fine.”

“That’s high praise for Minyard though,” Seth cut in. Then he turned to Neil and asked, “How many times did he threaten you with his knives?”

Neil thought about it. Andrew had actually threatened him with a knife once, but it hadn’t been his. He had also threatened to kill him a few times, but Neil thought those were all justifiable given the circumstances at the time. It might have been a stretch of the truth, but he answered, “Zero.”

The Foxes seemed shocked by his answer, and were all quiet for a few blissful seconds. Then Matt broke the silence. “Woah, are you going to be like another Renee?”

Neil had no idea what that meant and looked at Renee for clarification. “We’re friends,” she told him.

“Close friends,” Allison said with a crinkle of her nose like it was a fact she was unhappy about.

“Yeah, close friends with benefits,” Nicky added. 

“No, just friends,” Renee corrected.

“Anyways,” Matt cut in changing the subject, “Having a new person around is so exciting. We haven’t had a new Fox since Kevin.”

“And that was only fun for the first few weeks when he wouldn’t come out of his room. After that he just started yelling about training more and proper sword techniques.” Allison said snidely.

Neil had been around Kevin enough to understand exactly what she meant. Kevin was dedicated to say the least, and Andrew had called him fanatical more than once.

“Yeah we’re going to have to teach you all about Palmetto and The Foxhole.” Matt added excitedly. Matt and the other Foxes might have been excited about that prospect, but Neil had never talked to this many people at once and wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep it up.

His thoughts must have been obvious because Renee said, “But maybe not today.”

“Yeah, some other time,” Matt added.

“Get some rest and heal soon,” Dan patted his shoulder then turned to leave the room.

“You’re cute enough as is, but a little more beauty sleep won’t hurt,” Nicky added over his shoulder with a blown kiss as he and the Foxes filed out after Dan. 

Once they were gone and Neil’s room was quiet again he thought about what life was going to be like surrounded by the people who seemed to care about his well being even though they had just met him. He wondered if he would get used to the feeling, or if his father would come and destroy everything before he ever got the chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added the * to denote that time had passed, but the POV hasn't changed.  
> \- still denotes a POV change.
> 
> Wymack is the Lord of a neighboring kingdom to the Wesninskis, so I would assume they have meet each other at some point. So when Wymack sees Neil he is like hmmm looks a whole hell of a lot like young Nathan Wesninski.  
> Of course Andrew never saw Nathan so he doesn’t realize the resemblance is so noticeable, and Neil would never have mentioned it.  
> So does Wymack realize that Neil and Andrew are lying, or does he think that it’s just a coincidence? Find out next time on Knights of the Fox Table.
> 
> And yes the middle ages did have female doctors. 
> 
> Actually women had always been medica/doctors and for a majority of human history were in charge of healing/caring for the sick. That was until around the middle ages when medicine was made into something you had to study at a university to become proficient at. And since women were not allowed to attend the universities they were not allowed to be doctors anymore. 
> 
> For a majority of the middle ages having female doctors was still prevalent just because so many people were sick and dying from things like the black death that they needed as many doctors as possible. But after the middle ages women were slowly fazed out. The knowledge they used as medica/midwives/apothecaries was deemed to be lesser than, and looked down on. 
> 
> (Literally this is the time that everything hit rock bottom for women and we are still trying to claw our way back to even.)
> 
> Anyways rant over, thank you so much for reading and commenting.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BTW I did make a slight change to the end of the last chapter.  
> I added Nicky and Aaron into the group of Foxes that come visit Neil in the last part.

The Foxes kept their word and came to visit him daily through the remainder of the week that Neil was confined to bed. On one hand he was glad for this, since they helped break up the monotony of doing absolutely nothing all day long. Even when he had been at his father’s castle and trying to avoid everyone else he had been more active than this. On the other hand he still found their presence overwhelming. Their multitude of questions and worry over his health were something he wasn’t used to, and he had to keep reminding himself that they were just interested in getting to know their newest recruit not trying to expose the lie he was.

One thing that helped was that after the first day they hadn’t come to visit in one large group again. He didn’t know if his unease had been that noticeable, or if they were all just too busy to come together again. Either way now they would only come to see him in smaller groups, pairs, or alone.

During their visits he had noticed a pattern start to arise, and it soon became obvious that the Fox Knights were divided into two groups. The first group was the Elder Foxes, which consisted of Matt, Dan, Allison, Renee, and Seth. Nicky had told him that he had come up with that name for them even though technically he was older than all of them except Renee, but they had been here the longest so they were the elders. The second group who the elder Foxes had un-affectionately nicknamed The Monsters consisted of Kevin, Aaron, Nicky, and Andrew. 

The Foxes only ever came to visit him with members of their own group, but even if most of the Foxes didn’t seem to want to interact with the other group the divide wasn’t completely unbreachable. Renee had already mentioned that her and Andrew were friends, though the other elder Foxes seemed to view him with deep detest. Nicky also had no problems being friendly towards the elder Foxes, but always took sides with his cousins through some kind of family solidarity.

The rift between the knights was not the only thing Neil had noticed during their visits. From a very young age he had been conditioned to take notice of people’s intent towards him. It had helped him to quickly learn who was going to be a threat, and any signs that they intended him immediate harm. So during this past week he had studied how the Foxes spoke and acted towards him, and determined that they weren’t just putting on a friendly front. These people truly did seem to accept him, and wish for him to stay there. Which he found a little disconcerting, and almost couldn’t completely believe.

The only Fox that hadn’t come by at all was Andrew. At first after he had woken up Neil had asked about him, but was always met with the same answer that Andrew was out on patrol or busy doing something else. Neil wasn’t sure if it was true or if he was being lied too, but either way it didn’t really matter. The other Foxes all had the same set of duties as Andrew did and had all managed to make time to come visit, which meant Andrew was purposefully keeping his distance.

Neil didn’t understand why Andrew had seemingly abandoned him now that they had reached the Foxhole, and it was something he found himself thinking about a lot whenever he was alone. Maybe it was because Andrew had made it clear since the beginning that he had never wanted Neil here. Though Neil rejected this idea since Andrew had been the one to grab his wrist and drag him over that line himself.

Maybe it was because the only reason they were even travelling together to begin with was the promise Neil had made Andrew to get him to the Foxhole. Now that they were here the promise had been fulfilled and Andrew didn’t need him anymore. Except this idea didn’t seem quite right either. Neil knew it was true that in the beginning Andrew had only been using him, but after their escape things changed between them. Andrew and he had spent that time revealing some of the deepest parts of who they were and what had made them that way to each other. Which was something Neil had never thought he would do, and after talking with the Foxes it seemed was true for Andrew also.

No matter how much he thought about it Neil couldn’t understand why or when things had changed again. He hated the thought that Andrew might now start treating him like he treated most of the other Foxes, and wanted more than anything to just be able to talk with Andrew again. Except he couldn’t leave this damn bed, and he couldn’t force Andrew to do anything he didn’t want to do.

*

After Neil’s week of forced bedrest was finally over Abby decided that his first outing should be to go down to dinner with the rest of the Foxes. With help from Matt, who declared himself to be Neil’s new official escort, he made the slow descent down the stairs, and through the castle halls until they finally reached the Great Hall. They were the first to arrive. Matt helped ease Neil into a chair, then talked excitedly while they waited for everyone else. 

It wasn’t long before Wymack, Abby, and the rest of the elder Foxes came down as well. Most were excited to see Neil, and Matt, Dan, Allison, and Renee began plotting where exactly they should take him first in the castle. As the elder Foxes discussed Neil’s near future, he himself sat quietly in the chair carefully watching the door. They were only waiting for The Monsters now, which meant Neil would soon be seeing Andrew again for the first time in more than a week. He didn’t know why but he almost felt nervous as he waited. He kept thinking that Andrew would take one look at him, turn around, and walk right back out the door, or maybe Andrew wouldn’t show up at all.

Finally a few minutes later he heard Nicky’s voice carrying down the hall, and soon he, Aaron, Kevin, and Andrew stepped into the room.

“Neil, I didn’t know you were coming down today,” Nicky exclaimed.

Neil just barely heard him though, because he was entirely focused on Andrew who had looked up at him upon Nicky’s exclamation. Their eyes met and held for the briefest of seconds, then Andrew’s gaze moved over him like it had with the rest of the Foxes at the table. Neil felt stunned at Andrew’s lack of reaction, and all he could do was watch as he moved to take the empty seat beside Renee. Andrew sat down and didn’t look over at Neil again, even though he was sure his gaze must have been burning a hole through him.

“Neil?” Nicky asked after a few moments of elongated silence.

Which finally caused Neil to drag his attention away from Andrew. “Oh, yeah Abby only decided just before dinner that I was well enough to come down,” he answered quickly. He wanted to look back over at Andrew, but with so many people watching him now he forced himself not to.

As Wymack called dinner to a start Neil tried and failed to keep his eyes from constantly wandering to Andrew. He wasn’t sure what to think or how to react now. He knew that Andrew had been ignoring him all week, but seeing it in person was a completely different experience. He wanted to stand up and scream at Andrew. To ask him why he hadn’t come by, why he was ignoring him, and why he was acting like there was nothing between them now.

Except Neil couldn’t. He could not and would not stand up in front of all of the Foxes and start demanding answers from Andrew. He knew him well enough to know that would only make matters worse. He would have to wait for his answers till he could get Andrew alone.

*

As the week carried on Neil went on daily excursions throughout the castle and its grounds. During the first part of the week he had been too weak to move around much on his own, so the Foxes had helped him a lot. Now at the end of the week Neil had regained some of his strength, and was able to move around for a much longer time unassisted.

As part of his daily excursions every night he went down to the Great Hall for dinner with the rest of the Foxes, and practically every dinner went like that first one had. With most of the Foxes talking to him, except for Andrew who steadfastly ignored his existence. At first Neil tried to ignore the way Andrew was ignoring him, but each night it became increasingly harder and harder to do.

Tonight he had reached his breaking point.

Neil hadn’t liked being ignored, but at least every other night Andrew had been ignoring everyone else also. Tonight though he had quietly talked with Renee all throughout dinner. As Neil watched them discussing something with heads bent together he couldn’t stop his temper from rising. Once everyone was through eating, he had been the first to excuse himself claiming that he was tired. In actuality thought he was pissed. Pissed at Andrew for ignoring him, and pissed at himself for being this affected by it.

As Neil made his way up to the infirmary he decided that Andrew’s silence had gone on long enough. He would wait for at least another hour, so that most of the other Foxes would have enough time to retire to their rooms, then he would go in search of Andrew. That was if he could find him. Although plenty of the Foxes had pointed out their bedchambers to him, nobody had showed him where Andrew’s was. Which meant Neil would have to silently wander the castle halls with no plan and no idea of how to find Andrew.

He had been walking around the castle for nearly an hour now, and was making his way down a long stretch of hall when he heard footsteps coming from around the next corner. An ingrained reflex had him searching for somewhere to hide, but being unfamiliar with the castle he didn’t know which rooms he could safely duck into. So he turned and thought about trying to run back to the other end of the hall, but judging by how close the footsteps sounded and the condition his body was in now he knew he would never make it. With no other options he turned and started walking again, trying to seem as unsuspicious as possible.

The reasonable part of his brain told him that there was no reason for him to hide since Wymack had told him he was a Fox, and Foxes could go wherever they wanted in the castle. Yet the need to stay out of sight was so strong that he had to force himself to take each step forward and not turn and run.

As the footsteps neared Neil worked to make himself appear calm as the person finally turned the corner. A sense of relief shot through him at the sight of Renee standing in front of him, because out of all the people in the castle he could have run into tonight she was the least likely to question his true intention for being out.

“Oh, Hello Neil,” Renee greeted friendly, even if it was obvious she was surprised to see him.

“Hello,” Neil returned.

She took a few more steps forward crossing the short distance between them and said, “I’m glad to see that you are healing so well, but I believe Abby didn’t want you to go out on your own just yet.”

“I know. I couldn’t sleep and thought that going for a short walk might help, but ended up getting lost.” It was a stretch of the truth, but at least he wasn’t completely lying to the cleric.

Renee tilted her head to the side and studied him for a brief second before answering, “I would be happy to show you the way back.” Which Neil was about to protest when she added, “That is unless your short walk had a specific destination in mind?”

Neil shivered at the way she was able to read him so easily. Yet at the same time he guessed it was a good thing, because he knew that her friendship with Andrew meant she was probably the only person that would help him without question. So he dropped the lie, and told her the truth. “I wanted to see Andrew, but I don’t know where his room is.”

Renee smiled softly at him like this was exactly what she had been expecting him to say. “I know where it is. I’ll take you there if you want.”

Neil gave a single nod, which Renee accepted as answer enough. She turned around, gestured for him to follow after her, and they walked together in silence. After walking practically to the opposite end of the castle Renee finally stopped at the entrance to a hallway that dead ended. She turned to face Neil and pointed to the very last door. “That’s Andrew’s room.”

“Thank you,” Neil said as he stepped passed her into the hallway.

Before he had made it too far passed her though Renee softly added, “I hope whatever it is you are wanting to see him about works out for you.”

Neil looked back over his shoulder at her and nodded once again before she disappeared around the corner. After the sound of her footsteps were far enough away he walked to Andrew’s door, and stopped in front of it. Now that he was here he didn’t know what to expect, or what to even say. Andrew might continue to refuse to talk to him, he might confirm Neil’s fears that this was how things were going to be between them from now on, or hell he might not even be here. But before any of that could happen he first had to actually make an attempt, so Neil steeled himself and knocked.

Thankfully he immediately heard movement from inside the room, and a moment later the door was unlocked and pulled open to reveal Andrew. If Neil had been anyone else he probably wouldn't have noticed the short, almost nonexistent, look of surprised that crossed his face before it settled into his usual blankness.

“Are you lost Neil?” Andrew asked, then lifted his hand and twirled his fingers around gesturing at his room. “Because as you can see this isn’t the infirmary.”

A spike of anger shot through Neil’s chest. The last time they talked Andrew had been holding him in his arms as Neil had begged him to leave and save himself, which Andrew had vehemently refused to do. Now Andrew was what, going to act like that hadn’t happened? That nothing at all had happened between them? Pretend like Neil had no reasons to seek him out now? Neil tried to push down his anger at that thought, but knew he hadn’t completely succeeded as he said, “Oh, so you are still capable of speaking to me.”

Which Andrew ignored and instead asked, “Why are you here?”

“Why am I here? Are you serious” Neil asked, but didn’t wait to see if Andrew would answer. “I’m here because I want to know why you didn’t come to check on me once while I was bedridden, or why you haven’t said a single word to me since we got here.”

At Neil’s loud angry outburst Andrew reached forward, grabbed his wrist, and harshly yanked him into the room. When Neil was completely inside Andrew slammed the door closed, pinned him with a blank look, and said, “I didn’t realize I owe you anything.”

The words popped a hole in Neil’s chest, and he felt himself deflating. “Is that it then? We don’t owe each other anything now that I fulfilled my end of the promise to get you back to the Foxhole?”

Andrew stared at him without saying a word, but his silence was answer enough. He clearly expected Neil to accept that this was how things were going to be between them from now on. Except Neil had been thinking about this quite a lot and Andrew’s previous words and actions didn’t add up. Neil was here to get the truth from Andrew, not to be cut out of his life. “If that was true you would have left me to fend for myself. You wouldn’t have dragged me into the Foxhole, you wouldn’t have fought those knights, wouldn’t have fought to keep me alive, and you wouldn’t have...”

“Stop.” Andrew cut in. Like he knew exactly what Neil had been planning on saying next and didn’t want it spoken aloud.

But Neil could see how his words were chipping away at Andrew’s mask, and he wasn’t going to stop. “You wouldn’t have kissed me,” he finished.

The mask cracked and Andrew’s anger exploded forward. His hands clenched into fist so hard, that Neil knew he had to have been hurting himself. His face looked like he was warring with himself about what to say or what to do, or if he should say or do anything.

Andrew was angry, but none of his anger seemed to be directed at Neil. “I shouldn’t have done that,” Andrew finally bit out, which wasn’t what Neil had been expecting at all.

“Why?”

Andrew looked up at him with an incredulous expression. Like he couldn’t believe that Neil didn’t know the answer to such a simple question. “Because of the state you were in you couldn’t possibly have comprehended what was happening, you couldn’t have told me no, and you were not strong enough to stop me.”

Neil let the words sink in, and he finally understood. Andrew’s anger at himself, and what he had told Neil about the times in his past when he had been taken advantage of by men stronger than him painted a clear picture. Andrew thought he had let himself become like them in that instance. He thought Neil didn’t understand what had been happening, and even if had understood that he had been too weak to make Andrew stop. For Andrew it must have been a terrible thing to live with for the past two weeks.

Except there was no reason Andrew needed to feel that way because, “I did understand what was happening, and I didn’t want you to stop.”

Shock tore through Andrew’s anger, and he studied Neil like he was trying to discern if he was lying or not. Eventually he began to shake his head and say something, but Neil cut him off, “No Andrew you don’t get to decide how I felt then or now. At first I was surprised when you kissed me, because it wasn’t something I had known I wanted until that moment. But I did kiss you back, or tried my best too. And the whole time all I could think about was us both miraculously making it to the Foxhole Court so that we could do it again, but with less worrying about dying next time.”

As he talked Andrew’s anger smoothed back out. Neil knew that Andrew believed him since he had no reason to be lying about this, but it was clear Andrew still had doubts about something. After a few more moments of his continued studying of him Andrew asked, “Then why did you tell Nicky you weren’t interested in men or women?”

Neil was confused by the question at first, then remembered that first conversation he had ever had with Nicky. He started shaking his head, and almost wanted to laugh because of how badly Nicky had misunderstood him. “No, what I told him was that I had never been interested in anyone before.” He paused a moment then added, “As in before you.”

“Stop talking.”

Neil smirked thinking back to the last time Andrew had told him that, and said, “I rather liked the way you got me to stop talking last time.”

He knew Andrew would remember exactly what he was talking about, and in answer Andrew took a small step towards him, put his hands on his chest, and backed him into the door. When he had Neil fully pressed against the door Andrew looked up into his eyes and asked, “Yes or no?”

“Yes,” came Neil’s immediate and only response.

“Then stay,” Andrew said as he leaned forward and finally kissed him again.

-

Andrew kissed Neil like this would be the last time he would ever get to do so. He tried not to think as he slid one hand from Neil’s chest, up his throat, and then around to the back of his neck. Which on one had was easy to do, but on the other hand he couldn’t stop thinking about how he needed to hold on to this for as long as possible. From a young age Andrew had been taught that he didn’t get to keep any of the good things in his life, and he doubted that Neil Josten would be an exception to that.

Suddenly Andrew felt a light brush against his chest and his eyes shot open. He pulled back just enough so that he could look down, and he saw that he was now just a hair’s breadth away from being completely pressed against Neil’s chest. Andrew knew he hadn’t moved, and realized that he had subconsciously been pulling Neil closer with the hand grasped on the back of his neck. He usually wouldn’t have let himself get this carried away, but Neil had a way of making all of his carefully built walls and defenses come crashing down.

Movement caught his eye. He looked back up to see Neil, with eyes still closed, duck his head down towards Andrew chasing after his lips. Andrew resolutely ignored the way the sight gave him the same feeling in his stomach as falling did and took another step back. He removed his hands from Neil’s chest, and felt him falter at the loss of support. Andrew quickly put his hands back on Neil, and pushed so that he was braced against the door again. Which was a good thing because Neil’s hands were still tucked behind his back, where Andrew had trusted them to be, but that meant he wouldn’t have been able to catch himself before he fell face first into Andrew or the floor.

Once Neil had gotten his feet solidly under him again Andrew asked, “How long have you been up wandering around the castle?”

“Not that long,” Neil answered. Which might have been true. Except he was still in a weekend state from his injury, and it was clear that he was worn down now. Of course Neil would push himself too hard too quickly.

“Do you have clod in your head instead of a brain?” Andrew asked as he slid one of his hands from Neil’s chest, down his arm, and to his wrist. Once he had Neil’s wrist firmly grasped in his hand he turned, and pulled Neil further into the room after him.

“What are you doing?” Neil asked once it became obvious that Andrew’s destination was his bed. Which was a reasonable question since Neil knew his reservations about sleeping in close proximity to another person. He couldn’t sleep in the same room with another person unless he trusted them, and he hadn’t shared a bed with anyone since he had been a young child. In the beginning he did have trouble falling asleep around Neil, and he had mostly only fallen asleep out of pure exhaustion. As time went on though and his trust in Neil unwillingly grew he had found it easier and easier to fall asleep. Until eventually he had found himself sleeping close enough that he could have reached out and touched Neil, if he had even woken up and felt the need to check and make sure he was still there.

Right now he knew he would have more trouble trying to fall asleep with the thought of Neil trying to make it back to the infirmary by himself and passing out in the hallway instead, than he would with Neil in the bed next to him. He also wasn’t going to waste his time ferrying Neil around the castle like the other Foxes tended to do. “I am not Matt, and I am not going to be your personal escort.” He gave Neil a little shove towards the bed. “You can sleep here.”

After recovering from where he had stumbled into the bed Neil looked up and just stared at him. Which Andrew quickly got tired of. “Are you so infirm that you can’t even manage to get yourself into the bed now?” His brusque question finally broke Neil out of his stupor, and he began to ease himself into the bed. After Andrew was satisfied that Neil really could manage by himself he turned and went to lock his door.

“You know I’m only this way because I saved your life, which by the way I don’t ever remember hearing a thanks for.” Andrew paused, and looked back over his shoulder at Neil. He had successfully maneuvered himself onto the bed and was looking rather smug with himself.

“I’m not thanking you for nearly getting yourself killed. I’m sure there were other ways you could have stopped that knight without getting skewered.”

Neil shrugged. “Neither of us died.”

Andrew shook his head at him and turned back to finish locking the door. On his way back to his bed he blew out all of the candles. He could feel more than see Neil tracking his movements as he crawled into bed and placed his back against the wall. Once he was laying down Neil said, “Thank you for letting me stay.”

His stomach did that falling thing again. Not very many people had ever thanked him for allowing them to stay in his life before. Most were happy to get away as quickly as possible, which he was fine with. “You probably would have passed out in the hall otherwise.”

Neil rolled so that he was now on his side facing Andrew. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

Andrew was tired, too tired to listen to anymore of Neil’s sentiments for the night. “Go to sleep Neil.”

“Goodnight Andrew.” Neil replied though Andrew knew he was making no efforts to actually fall asleep, since he could still feel Neil’s eyes on him even as his own breath evened out and he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t even know what to say about this chapter. What I can say is this chapter has gone through quite the journey.
> 
> At first the first part started as a background into the Foxes. Like I was legit just going to go into a whole spill about each of the foxes and what had brought them to the Foxhole. (Which I’m still planning on doing, just over time, and more natural.) The big problem I had with this is that I couldn’t make it flow between parts very well, so I took it out.
> 
> Then in between Neil’s first dinner with the Foxes and the part where he goes and finds Andrew, I was going to have a whole section from Andrew’s POV. But again I was having a lot of difficulty writing it, and could never make it work the way I wanted it to. (Also by this point it was to the date I usually post a chapter around and I was getting antsy.)
> 
> So I kept skipping over Andrew’s part and working on the last part. (Which FYI is a scene that I have had pretty much worked out in my head since even before I actually started writing this.) I wanted to get to this part so bad, and have it posted for you guys, but I couldn’t get the first parts worked out.
> 
> So then I was like do I really need this Andrew part (I mean it wasn’t even really parts just some musings I had thrown together (which I haven’t completely scrapped yet, and will probably show up later in the work.)) I decided no, and started over re-working things. I have re-worked this chapter so much it just barely resembles what I started with over A MONTH ago. Also I'm going to Miami for vacation this week, and really wanted to get this posted before I left.
> 
> Anyways, I hope it was worth the wait. Which I’m sorry it took me so long to write, but at the same time I’m not sorry because this version is much better than the original one. IMO at least.
> 
> If you have any questions, comments, or just want to talk you guys know I am always replying back to your comments. Thanks so Much <3
> 
> My notes for the actual chapter:  
> Andrew kissing Neil while he has a large hole in his body is probably a bad idea, because getting his heart beating faster and harder from kissing probably just exacerbated the blood loss issue.  
> Remember how this is supposed to take place around the middle ages? Yeah sometimes I remember that too. Like when I’m searching for medieval insults, which is where the clod for brains came from. Clod=dirt/mud.  
> So what would you guys like to see next time? Some Andreil? Getting to know the Foxes better? Kevin and Neil training? I’m probably going to post one more chapter before the #plot starts up again, and I’m open to ideas.


	14. Chapter 14

Andrew woke to the feeling of another body in his bed, and for a brief second was thrown back into his past. He tensed as instincts he had built up over the years told him to lash out at the person beside him, and just barely refrained himself from doing so. As another heartbeat passed and his panic resided he opened his eyes to look over at the man still sleeping soundly beside him.

They still had a few more minutes before he would need to wake Neil up so that he could make it back to the infirmary before anyone noticed him missing. In that time Andrew let his eyes and mind wander. He watched Neil’s chest rise and fall with each breath and his eyelids flutter as he dreamed, and thought about how much trust it took for him to be able to fall asleep in the same bed as another. Though he wasn’t ready to admit, even to himself, exactly how deep that trust ran yet.

Before the feeling of another body in his bed had always meant horrible things. It was the reason he hadn’t willingly shared a bed with anyone since the age of seven. Though that had not always been an easy thing to do as an indentured servant being sold from family to family. Most servants in houses of the Moriyama Kingdom elite had to share a small space, especially the children who were usually just piled onto one bed. Andrew had refused to sleep with the kids who tossed and turned all night, and instead would shove himself into a corner of the room with his back tucked against the wall.

Though that all changed when he was moved into the Spear house. The Spears were a moderately wealthy family with enough money to afford one servant, but a servant is not what Cass Spear had wanted. No, Cass had wanted another child to care for after her son had started his training as a city guard, and Andrew had been that lucky child. For the first time in his life he had a bed and a room all to himself. Though the door to his room didn’t lock, and that dream soon turned into another nightmare.

Andrew shook himself out of his memories and pushed them as far back into his mind as he could. He would never be rid of them, but there was no point in dwelling on the past now. Neil was safe and he didn’t need those nightmares befouling this.

It was time for Neil to get up anyways. Andrew reached over and lightly brushed his fingers across his shoulder knowing it would be enough to wake him. Sure enough the moment his fingers made contact Neil jerked awake. He jolted straight up, hands flailing. He sat up too quickly judging by the grimace on his face, and the way his hands shot to press against his wound.

He ran his hand across the newly formed scar, then turned his sleepy focus on Andrew. “What is it?”

“It’s time to go back.”

In complete contrast to what Andrew just said Neil fell back down onto the bed and pulled the blanket up his chest. “No, it’s too early the sun isn’t even out yet.”

Andrew gestured out the window were the faint hints of sunlight were starting to appear. “It’s rising now, and you know Abby will be rising with it.”

Neil groaned, rolled onto his stomach, and buried half of his face into the pillow. “I want to stay here where it’s warm, the corridors are always so cold in the mornings.”

Andrew huffed at Neil’s whining. It had been three weeks since Neil first sought him out to demand answers for the way Andrew had been acting since they had arrived. In that time he had snuck down to sleep here many times, and every morning, except the first, Neil complained about having to go back to the infirmary. That first morning Neil and Andrew had slept in not thinking about the fact that Abby and Aaron would wake up to find an empty bed, or the search for the missing knight which followed. Now Andrew made sure to wake before the sun rose so that nobody would start to get suspicious as to why Neil was never in his bed in the morning.

Andrew looked down at a petulant Neil and knew exactly what he needed to do to get him out of the bed. He put his hands to Neil’s side and pushed. Though he didn’t put any real force into it, knowing that Neil’s injuries were still tender. He pushed just enough to get Neil moving on his own.

“Fine, I’m leaving,” Neil said as he batted his hands away and moved to slide out of bed. Once he was standing he grabbed his tunic off the floor and pulled it on before making his way to the door. Andrew slid out of bed also so that he could relock the door behind Neil, and shivered as his feet hit the cold stone floor.

Neil opened the door and stepped halfway out of it before stopping and turning back to Andrew. He used his hold on the door to lean forward, almost to the point of brushing Andrew’s lips. There he stopped and waited for Andrew to either cross that breadth of distance or pull away. Neil had been mindful of his ‘don’t touch me’ ever since he had uttered those words after Drake’s attack, and never touched without permission first.

At the moment though Neil didn’t need to hesitate. Andrew grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him in. The kiss only lasted for a short while before Andrew pulled back and pushed Neil the rest of the way out the door. If they got distracted now Neil wouldn’t make it back to the infirmary before sunrise.

Neil huffed out a laugh as Andrew closed the door in his face. After locking the door he turned and crawled back into bed since he still had a bit more time before he had to be up for breakfast. As he laid there trying to fall asleep again he let the idea of having a blacksmith make a duplicate of his key for Neil float around in his head. Giving Neil a key meant he had permission to come and go as he pleased, but it also meant Andrew wouldn’t have to get out of his bed to let Neil out in the morning. 

-

As Neil meandered his way back from Andrew’s room to the infirmary he tried to maintain that fuzzy warm feeling in his chest, but by the time he arrived he was shivering from the cold. He huddled under the blankets, but didn’t bother trying to fall back asleep knowing that Aaron or Abby would be here to check on him soon.

A few minutes later Abby strolled in. “Good morning Neil. You’re up early again.” He nodded and watched her go about her morning routine of preparing for the day. Once she was done she gathered up a jar of ointment and pulled the stool out so that she could sit beside his bed. Two days ago they had removed the bandages around his abdomen permanently, and now were only applying the salve to help the scar heal.

Once Abby was done Neil pulled his tunic securely back down and asked, “How much longer until I can start training again?”

“You ask me that every day and my answer hasn’t changed,” Abby said as she prodded gently at his new scar. He winced at the twinge of pain, and she sent him a knowing look. “Your wound might be closed, but that doesn’t mean you’re completely healed.”

He slumped down into his pillows. “I know. I just feel so useless.”

“I understand, and I’m going to talk to David about getting you incorporated into some of the more menial tasks the knights do around the castle tonight.”

He perked up a little at hearing that. It wasn’t training, but Neil was grateful for the opportunity to be able to do anything besides sit and do nothing all day. “Thank you.”

Abby smiled down at him then stood up and walked to the door. “I’ll be out of the castle for the rest of the day so talk to Aaron if you need anything. I believe Matt and Dan will be by to walk you down to breakfast.”

Neil had no doubt that they would. One of the things he liked about the Foxes was that they were not overbearing. At first he had been worried about all their questions, but once they realized he wasn’t willing to talk in depth about his past they backed off. Besides they were too busy with their own lives to try and prod too deeply into his. 

Dan and Matt were another story though. Dan believed it was her job, as the captain of the knights, to teach him everything there was to know about being a Fox, and Matt just seemed to enjoy spending time with him. Which meant he spent most of his time here with them.

About half an hour later they showed up, and together the three of them made their way down to breakfast with the rest of the Foxes.

After they finished breakfast the Foxes went about taking care of their responsibilities for the day, which left Neil to return to the infirmary with Nicky and Aaron. Aaron actually had work to do, but Nicky was free. Neil was still not entirely sure of Nicky’s role at the castle. Nicky claimed he was the face of the Foxhole Court and attended meetings with Wymack, since as he put it, ‘Wymack was a grumpy bastard that didn’t like dealing with most people’. Though Dan, Abby, and even Betsy also attended meetings with Wymack, and Neil was fairly sure they were all more than capable of helping smooth out his gruff edges. So he had to assume that Nicky’s position here was probably mostly self-appointed, though he could see how his friendly personality could be useful. His personality contrasted with his cousins so much that one night Neil had asked Andrew if he was sure Nicky was in fact their cousin, and received only an eye roll in response.

As Aaron worked on making more salves and mixing other medicinal herbs together Neil sat and listened to Nicky talk. It wasn’t like he had much of a choice once he got started anyways. Nicky started out by telling Neil about Aaron’s secret girlfriend Katelyn who worked at the apothecary in town. They had met Aaron’s first year here when Abby had sent him into town to buy some herbs, and had struck up a relationship quickly afterward.

When Aaron didn’t yell at him to shut up about his personal life Nicky took it as a sign to keep going. Aaron, like Nicky, wasn’t technically a knight. They had never learned how to use a weapon before coming to the Foxhole Court, and only knew the very basics of how to wield a sword now. Both had been raised in the Moriyama Kingdom, but didn’t meet until Aaron was thirteen when Tilda moved them to the village her brother and his family lived in. Luther Hemmick was much more well off, and Tilda needed his support.

Tilda had always struggled in life, it was probably one of the reasons she only kept Aaron and sold Andrew at birth. Her need for extra money had caused her to send Aaron off to work at the local apothecary. Though his small income was only one reason for getting him a job there, the second was so that he could steal a medicinal herb she had become addicted to.

Though looking back on it now Tilda had done her young son a favor because it was at the apothecary that Aaron had learned about common illnesses, medicinal herbs, and how much to administer for each illness. That knowledge is what led him to become Abby’s apprentice.

As Nicky talked Neil could tell that he was proud of his younger cousin. Before they had come to the Foxhole Court three years ago the three of them lived together when Nicky took them in after Tilda’s death. Though at the time they were all practically adults and all had jobs. Nicky worked at a tavern, Aaron at the apothecary, and Andrew was a member of the city guard.

Before Tilda’s death, Nicky had rented a single room at the tavern he worked at after his parents had disowned him when they found out he liked men. Which Neil didn’t think was uncommon if his knowledge of what went on within the Raven’s Nest was anything to go by, but apparently Nicky’s parents were very strictly religious. According to Nicky he had kept his attraction to men a secret from them for quite a while until a rumor started going around town which caused his parents to question him about it. Not wanting to lie to them, and believing they would love him no matter what Nicky had confessed it to be true.

Things had not gone at all the way Nicky had hoped. His parents had been appalled, and threw him out of their house immediately. Even now Neil could still see how affected Nicky was by his parent's betrayal. It was clear he missed them, especially his mother, but last year after trying to write them a letter he had found out that they had moved away and now had no way of ever contacting them again.

Eventually, Aaron grew tired of having Nicky flitting around his workspace and kicked him out. With Nicky gone Neil didn’t want to be left in the room with only Aaron, so he snuck out to wander around the castle by himself. The only Fox he wouldn’t mind running into was Andrew, but he had left with Kevin to check on the farm fields to the north and wouldn’t make it back till later.

He wandered for a while before he turned a corner and found himself standing outside the doors to the kitchen. He had yet to go inside since it was usually being used by the cooks, the only actual staff of the Foxhole Court, but today the room was quiet. He had snuck down to the kitchen in his father’s castle many time, and he was curious as to how this one differed.

As stepped inside he saw Renee standing at a table in the center of the room. She looked up and sent him a short wave of acknowledgment. Which he took to mean that she wouldn’t mind if he wanted to join her, but also wouldn’t be offended if he kept walking either. Having nothing better to do, and knowing that Renee wasn’t going to talk as much as Nicky had he decided to stay and see what she was making.

He had no idea how to cook anything, something for which Andrew had mocked him for when they had been on the run, but whatever she was making looked like it was going to be sweet.

“It’s going to be a cake,” she said as if she read his thoughts. “I’m making it for Andrew since I know he hasn’t had one in quite awhile. You can help me if you want he’ll appreciate it even though he would never say so.”

She gave him an assessing look that gave him the distinct impression that she knew something. What exactly she knew he wasn’t sure, but she definitely knew something. He decided to not think too much about it though. “Okay, but I’ve never cooked anything before,” Neil said as he examined the ingredients laid out on the table in front of them. He wasn’t sure he could even name them all.

“Yes, I would assume it’s not a common practice for knights to help out in the kitchens.”

That was true. None of his father’s knights would ever even think about doing the servants work, and the son of the lord sure hadn’t been expected to help.

Renee set about mixing the ingredients together, and gave him easy instructions to follow so he could help as well. Once the cake was ready to go in the oven Renee told him that there was nothing left to do besides clean up and wait. So Neil helped her clean up, but decided against waiting around in the hot kitchen.

From there he made his way down to the training fields. Word had come through that Kevin and Andrew were back, so he expected to find Kevin already out practicing. Neil had been going out to watch him practice a lot in the past few weeks. The first time he had done so he had been amazed at how good Kevin was with his non-dominant hand. Watching Kevin had reminded him of the first time he had seen Kayleigh perform, both made it look more like an art form than training for warfare. 

It made an itch grow under his skin to get out there and practice against Kevin. During his time spent with the Ravens he had never once been able to best Kevin, and he wanted to try again now.

Neil heard footsteps approaching and looked up to find Andrew walking towards him. It was the third time this week alone he had found him up here. Andrew sat down beside him without a word, and stared ahead. Neil wasn’t sure if he was watching Kevin also, or just staring off into nothing. They sat together in silence for a while until Andrew asked, “Are you going to turn out to be just as obsessive as him?”

Neil looked down at where Kevin was practicing the same move over and over, and felt a smile tugging on the corner of his lips. “No, I don’t believe it’s possible for anyone to be as obsessive as he is.”

Andrew made a disbelieving humming noise.

“It’s true. When we were younger I would try to talk to him, but all he ever wanted to talk about was sword training. I didn’t think much of it back then, but as I got older I began to wonder what it was that made him so intensely focused. At first I thought he was intent on keeping his mother’s legacy alive after her death, but now I think it was how he avoided thinking about his life with Riko and Tetsuji.”

Andrew gave a short nod. “Even though he doesn’t believe that Lord Kengo or Ichirou will allow Riko to come for him he still has frequent panic-inducing nightmares about being dragged back to the Nest.”

“Is that why he drinks so heavily at night?”

“He says it helps.”

Neil didn’t understand how drinking enough to pass out was supposed to help, but he wasn’t Kevin. He looked back down at the field, but found he wasn’t as invested now as he had been just moments before. His eyes kept drifting back to Andrew. After a while he stopped fighting himself and let his gaze rest on him.

Andrew only suffered his staring for a few moments before asking, “What?”

“I haven’t seen you today.”

Andrew turned to face him with a bored look. “You saw me this morning, then again at breakfast, and you’re seeing me now.”

“You know what I mean. I spend time with the other Foxes throughout the day, but never with you. Today I even spent a few hours with Nicky and Aaron, which was enlightening.”

“Nicky talks too much.”

“Don’t worry he didn’t say anything about you that I didn’t already know.” Which was true. Nicky told him things about himself and Aaron he hadn’t know before, but nothing about Andrew. He knew a lot about Andrew’s past because he had upheld his promise to tell Neil about his mother’s death, and his life before.

The Spear house was the last house he was sold into as an indentured servant. Andrew hadn’t talked much about the houses before other than saying none of them had been good, and Neil hadn’t needed any more details. He also hadn’t needed to say that Cass’s house was the first time in his life that he hadn’t suffered some kind of abuse. Though that changed when Drake came home to visit.

Andrew suffered through Drake’s abuse in order to hold onto Cass, but his time living with the Spears would come to an end soon. One day another of the city guards named Higgins came with news that he had been to a nearby village and met a kid that looked exactly like Andrew. He told Andrew that he had talked to the kid and his mother and found out that Andrew was in fact a twin.

At that point Drake become really interested in having Andrew meet his brother, and convinced Cass to write a letter to Tilda imploring her to allow Aaron to visit. Andrew would never let that happen though, and the very next day he snuck out of the house and got himself arrested.

Cass offered to pay to get him out of the city jail, but Andrew refused. He would rather rot in a cell than have his brother in the same house as a monster.

With Andrew refusing to go back to the Spear’s house Higgins stepped in to help him out. He got into contact with the town his family lived in and worked out a deal. Andrew could get trained to work as a city guard there, and they would pay off his indenture.

Within a months time Andrew went from having no family and no last name to meeting a whole family that lived only a few villages away. Though that family was far from perfect. Luther and Maria had already kicked Nicky out, and he soon realized Tilda was abusing Aaron. So Andrew stuck up a deal with his brother and a month later Tilda was dead.

When Andrew remained silent Neil took it as a sign that he wasn’t interested in hearing what Nicky had said, so he let the subject drop. He watched Kevin practice for a few minutes before he remembered something. “I haven’t seen you training yet.”

“That’s because I don’t.”

Neil’s lips pulled down into a disbelieving frown. “I’ve seen you fight before. You can’t be that good without some training” Andrew was fierce in battle, and Neil was certain that he would very much enjoy watching him train. Maybe once he healed he would be able to convince Andrew to practice with him.

“I spar with Renee.”

That surprised him. Renee was a Fox for a reason, but Andrew was a force and the fact that the cake baking cleric could hold her own against him was quite a feat.

Andrew must have read the surprise on his face. “She and I are more alike than you seem to believe.”

“Your cousin and most of the other Foxes think the two of you are together.”

“My cousin and most of the other Foxes are also idiots.”

The foxes didn’t really seem all that stupid to Neil, but he knew there was no point in arguing that with Andrew. Besides it brought up another question in his mind. “When do you think the Foxes will figure this out?”

Andrew glanced down coolly at the hand Neil was using to gesture between them. “This?” He asked as he looked back up at Neil’s eyes.

“Oh, you know the talking, the kissing, the fact that I spend about half of my nights sleeping in your bed?”

“It’s not a this,” Andrew said as he mockingly mimicked the hand gestured Neil had made earlier. Then dropped his hand back down and added, “Most of them are like Nicky and are easily blinded but what’s in front of them.”

“I think Renee knows, did you tell her?”

“No, but you did when you asked for her help finding my room in the middle of the night.”

“Oh.” Neil felt heat coloring his cheeks. “I didn’t really think about what it might have seemed like.”

“You could have just said, I didn’t really think.”

“Ha, has anyone ever told you you’re very funny,” Neil said with a bland expression.

Andrew opened his mouth in what Neil was sure was going to be a scathing retort, but the sound of feet pounding up the steps of the stands made him jerk his head around. Neil looked also and found Nicky running towards them. “Wymack is looking for you two. The Wesninski’s have made their move.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took me soooooooooo long, please forgive me. Can we pretend it didn't take me three months to write this chapter :( I just lost inspiration for a while. I would write a little and would just hate everything. I really really hope that I'm back now. Plot will pick back up in the next chapter, and as of now my outline says it will be 20 chapters total.
> 
>  
> 
> So I did research for this chapter into cakes, baking, and homosexuality in the middle ages.
> 
> Feel free to comment and yell at me to get my ass into gear.  
> Love you guys, thanks!!!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning for very vague mention of a hand-job in this chapter.

The Wesninskis had declared war on the Foxhole Court. They had all known this war was coming, but still the thought of facing his father’s whole army made Neil want to run far far away. He knew how cruel his father and his knights could be and wouldn’t wish their brand of warfare on anyone. Especially the Foxes, who had taken him in and treated him as if this was where he belonged.

Neil and Andrew followed Nicky to the Great Hall and as they neared it Neil could hear shouting coming from inside. When they stepped through the doors he saw all the Foxes gathered around the main table yelling over each other to be heard.

“We need to start fortifying Palmetto and the castle,” Dan barked trying to give out orders that nobody was making a move to follow.

“Knowing those assholes they’ll probably attack tomorrow so the other kingdoms won’t have time to send aid.” Allison sounded pissed, but the subtle shake of her shoulders gave away how frightened she was.

Renee took notice also and wrapped an arm around her. “We would know if the Wesninskis were on the move already. The outlining villages would have warned us.” 

“Why are we talking about this at all,” Seth cut in. “I say we give them what they want. It’s not like Minyard will be some great loss, he’s probably guilty anyway.”

“Shut the fuck up Seth,” Aaron seethed. “We’re not sending Andrew anywhere.”

Neil chose to ignore the ensuing debate about whether Andrew was worth starting a war over and instead turned his attention to the head of the table. Wymack was rubbing his fingers in circles on his temples looking as if he was warding off a headache.

When Wymack finally looked up he caught sight of Andrew and Neil. He rose from his chair and pointed a finger at them then jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “You two with me,” he said before turning and leaving the room whilst ignoring the questions the other Foxes were throwing his way.

Neil and Andrew dutifully followed and the three of them walked in silence till they reached Wymack’s office. Once inside Wymack gestured for them to sit before walking around behind his desk and grabbing out three glasses and a bottle of dark amber liquid. He filled the glasses almost to the brim before pushing two across towards Andrew and Neil. Andrew raised his glass immediately and took a long drink, but Neil left his sitting untouched.

Wymack drained his glass in two swallows then looked up at Neil. “What do you think Nathan’s next move will be?”

Neil startled at the mention of his father and glanced briefly at Andrew who had stiffened at such a direct question. Andrew slowly put his half-finished glass back down on the desk and stared Wymack down with a narrow-eyed gaze. Neil turned his attention back towards Wymack also. It shouldn’t be possible for him to know who Neil was neither Kevin nor Andrew had betrayed his identity, but there was something about Wymacks tone that made him wary. “How would I know that?” He asked carefully.

“Lets cut the bullshit, and be honest with each other,” Wymack said looking between the two of them. Then his gaze turned to rest solely on him, and Neil knew time was up. “I know who you are.”

Neil jerked backwards in his chair so hard he nearly toppled it over. Wymack knew and Neil needed to leave this room, leave the castle, leave the kingdom. He needed to get out of here before anyone had the chance to send him back to his father because nobody in their right mind would risk their kingdom over one person.

He started to move, but before he could even stand a hand clamped down on his wrist pinning him there. Mindlessly he tried to yank his arm free, but the grip was too tight. He jerked his head around to get a look at his captor, but it was only Andrew.

The sight of Andrew’s calm hazel eyes staring back at him stilled his desperate need to run. He trusted Andrew enough to know he wouldn’t keep him there if he thought he was in any danger. So slowly he sank back down into the chair, even though his heart continued beating wildly in his chest.

With Neil seated again Andrew loosened his vice-like grip on his wrist and trained his attention back on Wymack. “How long?”

Wymack huffed, unconcerned at the hostility he heard in Andrew’s voice and turned to Neil to answer, “Since you arrived. I’ve met Nathan Wesninski, and I hate to break it to ya kid but you look just like him.”

Neil knew it was true and hated the fact with a bitterness he couldn’t describe. Still it made him even more confused about why Wymack had allowed him to stay if he had known who he was since the beginning. He could worry about that later right now there was only one question he needed answered. It felt like a stone had settled in his stomach as he asked, “Are you going to send me back?”

“Why the fuck would I do that?”

“Because he is coming for me.”

“Last I heard Nathan and his knights were coming for this asshole,” Wymack said jabbing a finger at Andrew. “But we all know that’s bullshit too.”

A fledgling sense of hope began to rise up in his chest. “So you aren’t going to send me away?”

“No, I don’t give a damn who you were before. You are a Fox now.”

Neil could hardly believe the words. Wasn’t sure he could ever believe them fully. It made no sense for someone like Wymack to fight for someone like Neil, yet here he was with a determined look on his face doing exactly that. It sounded like a dream but tasted like he was damning all the Foxes for his decision to flee his father.

“Now back to my question,” Wymack said looking between the two of them. “They’re using Andrew as an excuse to attack us so that the other allied kingdoms don’t have to get involved, but what I can’t figure out is why. If this was about our land he would attack without warning, and wouldn’t have said you were dead if this was about bringing you back. So, what is Nathan really after?”

“My,” Neil started but nearly choked on the next word, “father never talked to me about his plans, or anything related to the kingdom.”

“Try to think of anything,” Wymack said. “Any knowledge you have about them could be useful.”

Neil racked his memory of every lesson he had learned from his tutors and tried to place himself in the role of Lord of the Wesninski Kingdom. “Kengo is dying and although he and my father have always had a good relationship that doesn’t mean Ichirou will be bound to it. There has always been talk of him wanting to expand and do greater things than Kengo. Maybe my father is trying to ensure Ichirou doesn’t set his eyes on Wesninski Kingdom.”

“So your father is going to start a war just so Ichirou will be preoccupied?”

Neil nodded. He could never, nor did he ever want to, understand his father’s actions, but that seemed like the best explanation for now.

Wymack rocked backwards out of his chair, knocking his glass off his desk in the process. It rolled to the floor and broke apart with a crash, but it did nothing to hamper Wymack’s tirade. “That fucker plans on using my people as collateral damage.”

Neil’s instincts told him to shrink back from the rage he saw on the older man’s face, but held his ground knowing Wymack would never turn it on him.

Andrew, the ever calm eye of the storm, asked, “So what do we do?”

Wymack rubbed a hand down his face and said, “Even if we know Nathan’s true purpose there is nothing we can do to stop him.”

Neil hated what he was about to say, but offered it anyways. “We could tell the other kingdoms that I’m not dead, it should sway their opinion.”

Wymack shook his head. “I doubt the kingdoms who are unwilling to support us will accept a letter claiming you’re alive, and we don’t have time to parade you around to every kingdom.”

Neil was at a loss. He felt hopeless knowing this was his fault, but could do nothing to change their fates now.

When Andrew and he both remained silent Wymack continued, “We’ll need to do as Dan said earlier and prepare Palmetto and the castle for a siege. Not tonight though. Tonight I need you two to get out of my sight and get some rest.”

Neil stood and went to the door, but Andrew downed the rest of his glass before standing to join him.

Just as Neil pushed open the door Wymack called out to him, “I won’t tell the others the truth about you if you don’t want me too. As far as I’m concerned you’re Neil Josten, knight of the Foxhole Court.”

Neil opened his mouth, but no words came out. He had done nothing to deserve Wymack’s kindness, and had no idea how he could ever repay it. He closed his mouth and nodded his thanks as he stepped out the door.

-

As Andrew followed Neil into the hall corridor he could still hear the sound of the Foxes arguing with each other in the Great Hall. A single glance at Neil’s pale face told him that he was in no shape to handle being around any of them at the moment. So Andrew grabbed him by the elbow and hauled him off in the opposite direction before he had the chance to take a step.

It was late, and there was only one place Andrew wanted to be.

When they reached his bedroom he let go of Neil’s arm and moved to lock the door behind them. He turned back around to find Neil unmoved and staring unseeing at the wall with a haunted look on his face. The whole way here Neil had trailed listlessly after him. Their conversation with Wymack had clearly rattled him, but he now seemed to be spiraling further.

He only gave Neil a moment to move on his own, and when he didn’t Andrew took it upon himself to get him into bed. He moved slowly so as to not startle him as he moved Neil further into the room then proceeded to pull his tunic over his head. With it off he maneuvered him to the bed, pulled off his boots, and forced him under the blankets. Once he had Neil situated he changed out of his own clothes and crawled into bed beside him.

Andrew laid on his back and stared up at the ceiling. No matter how tired he was he knew he wasn’t going to be able to fall asleep with Neil in the state he was in. He let himself wonder if Bee or Renee were here could they say something to help, but cleared his mind of the thought almost as soon as it came. He wasn’t them. He was just Andrew, and all he could offer Neil at the moment was his silent presence.

After minutes had passed Neil’s voice finally broke the silence. “I should go back.”

Andrew turned to face him. “Making yourself into a martyr isn’t going to help anyone. You said yourself that your father is playing a bigger game here.”

“What if I’m wrong?”

“Maybe you are, but it doesn’t matter.” Neil opened his mouth to say something, but Andrew didn’t let him. “Do you believe that if I gave myself up, like he is asking for, he would stop?”

Neil shook his head, but remained quiet. Andrew knew Neil well enough to know that his silence now wasn’t him admitting Andrew was right. He probably just realized trying to argue further with him was pointless.

They laid there again in silence for a few more minutes until Neil rolled over to face Andrew also. “I should tell them the truth.”

Andrew knew he meant the Foxes. Seth would undoubtedly be pissed, Aaron would most likely feel vindicated in his dislike of Neil, the rest though were already too ingrained in the idea of him being their newest family member to turn their back on him. Even if Neil didn’t believe it Andrew knew the Foxes would never toss him out because of his past. “If you want.”

Neil nodded then finally let his eyes close. Andrew watched him till he was sure Neil was asleep before letting his own eyes fall shut.

-

In the few days that had passed since learning of his father’s coming attack, The Foxes along with the citizens of Palmetto had made vast strides in preparing the city and castle. The castle had begun to be stocked for what could be a long siege, and the townspeople had got to work shoring up the outer defenses. Palmetto was a walled city with Fox Castle sitting at its center, which also had its own wall. The outer walls large size made it impossible for the handful of Fox Knights to defend by themselves, but as it turned out they weren’t going to have too. Many of the citizens had come forward willing to stand and fight to protect their home.

It wasn’t just the citizens of Palmetto who would be helping out either. Wymack had received word from many of the Allied Kingdoms saying they would lend them their support. Some, like the Trojan Kingdom, already had knights en route to join them. Others had sent spies into key towns throughout the Wesninski Kingdom. Thus far no movement had been reported. Neil had to assume his father was in no hurry to attack them. The longer Nathan waited the more the news would spread, and the more time Ichirou would have to make his decision.

While all of this had been going on Neil still hadn’t found the courage to tell the Foxes the truth about himself, and every day he felt as if his lie was weighing on him more. The Foxes deserved the truth, but he couldn’t stomach the thought of the revulsion and outrage he would see on their faces when they learned who he truly was.

Today Allison, Renee, and he were pouring over a report from one of the farmers in the northern part of the kingdom. They had been at it for about half an hour when a messenger rushed through the doors with a letter in hand. Neil instantly recognized the seal as that of the Reynold’s Kingdom. Allison must have noticed her family crest also because she snatched it out of the messenger's hand and tore it open before Neil and Renee could even move.

Allison read through the letter quickly. Once she was done she stared blankly at it for a few seconds before tossing it down on the table, and spitting out, “Those bastards.”

The Reynold’s Kingdom was one of the Allied Kingdoms the Foxes had still been waiting to hear back from. Judging by Allison’s reaction their response wasn’t what they had hoped for.

Renee reached for the letter and asked, “May I?” When Allison gave her a go on gesture she picked it off the table and began to read. When her eyes reached the bottom she flicked them back to Allison and said, “At least they didn’t outright refuse.”

“They said they are undecided, that sounds like a refusal to me.” Allison took the letter back, waded it into a ball, and threw it into the fire. “I would say I’m surprised, but I’m actually not. They’re the worst.”

Neil highly doubted that was possible, but held his tongue.

“Maybe you should write to them personally. A letter from their daughter might change their mind.” Renee told her.

Allison acted as if Renee hadn’t spoken and turned to face Neil instead. “Did I ever tell you how I came to be at the Foxhole Court?”

Her abrupt change in conversation had Neil looking to Renee, but when she just gave him a small shrug he turned back to Allison. They both knew she was deflecting, but were going to let her be for now. “No, I have heard rumors though.”

“My parents wanted me to be the perfect little lady, but I wanted to be a knight. They accepted my so-called rebellious spirit for awhile and allowed me to train and even compete. That was until they arranged a marriage for me and my new husband-to-be didn’t approve of my ‘brutish lifestyle’ his words. I refused, and they told me I didn’t have an option.” Allison paused and flicked her fingers dismissively. “So I made my own option and got the hell out.”

She turned back to face Renee. “So no I don’t think a letter from me is going to sway their opinion.”

“I still think you should try. It’s been years your parents could feel differently now.”

“You don’t know my parents,” Allison said as she stood. She looked down at Renee with a soft smile, and placed a hand on her shoulder. “But for you, I’ll try.”

Allison dropped her hand away and turned to walk out. As she stepped through the doorway she looked over her shoulder with a glint in her eye and called, “Though know I’m doing it just to prove to you that not everyone is capable of change or worth second chances.”

Renee smiled softly and ignored Allison’s goading. After her footsteps faded away Renee turned to Neil and asked, “How are you holding up? I’m sure it must be unsettling having the kingdom you ran from planning on attacking now.”

Calling the feeling Neil felt about his father coming here unsettling was putting it mildly. He would say it felt more like he was drowning in dread, but doing his best to not let the feeling suffocate him. Though he couldn’t exactly say that to her. Instead he said, “The Wesninskis are ruthless and win because they are willing to sacrifice as many knights as needed. Anyone with a working mind should be unsettled about them coming.”

Renee nodded in silent agreement, and they went back to going over the farming report.

A while later something caught Renee’s attention and she looked up. “Hello, Andrew.”

Neil lifted his head and saw Andrew leaning in the doorframe watching them. He nodded his head in acknowledgment of Renee then turned to Neil. “Kevin is waiting for you.”

Neil stood immediately. Earlier today Wymack had signed off on him starting up sword practice training again, much to Abby’s chagrin. She had only agreed because they were soon to be in a dire situation and Neil had promised to take it slow at first.

He took a few steps towards Andrew before realizing he had been in the middle of helping Renee. He turned back to look at her, but before he could say anything she said, “Go on. I’m fine here, we were nearly done anyway.”

He thanked Renee then followed Andrew out. Once they were out of the castle he asked, “Are you going to train also?”

“With you and Kevin?”

Neil nodded.

“No.”

He wanted to ask why not, but knew what Andrew’s answer to that would be. Andrew held no desire to better himself on principal as Kevin and Neil did. Still they were about to be at war, and a little extra practice couldn’t hurt. He knew Andrew knew this, and wouldn’t be taking the threat lightly. So Neil rephrased the question. “Have you been training more at all?”

“Renee and I have been sparring more.”

That was good enough for Neil. “Does Kevin know this?”

“No.”

For some reason that made him feel a little smug. He knew it absolutely drove Kevin insane that Andrew wouldn’t practice with him. For a moment Neil wondered if Andrew would train with him if he asked. After all he had a little more to offer him than Kevin did, and Andrew would probably agree just to spite him.

That was a question for later though. They had reached the edge of the training field and Neil could see Kevin waiting for him sword in hand. Andrew left him there with a warning to not overdo it today, and in turn Neil only promised to not further injure himself.

Kevin watched Andrew leave with an unhappy look in his eye before finally turning a more calculating gaze on Neil. He wasted no time in putting them to work.

After what felt like hours later Neil was laid on the ground trying to catch his breath. Kevin, the bastard, stood above him looking as if he had hardly broken a sweat. He put his sword away and looked down at Neil. “You’ve improved.”

Neil released a humorless laugh, that was the best compliment he had ever received from Kevin. “It’s been two years Kevin, it would be sad if I hadn’t.”

Kevin didn’t bother responding to that. “Meet me here again at the same time tomorrow. First you need to build your stamina back up, then we will work on perfecting your stances and swings.”

Neil nodded and started the long painful process of pushing himself off the ground. He hated how much getting injured set him back. Normally he had great endurance, but now his muscles were in agony from disuse.

Once Neil was on his feet Kevin started to walk away, but after only a few steps he turned back around. He looked like he was warring with himself about saying whatever it was he wanted to say. Finally he asked, “Are you worried about them coming?”

“You’ve met my father, of course I am.”

“Are you going to run?”

Neil shook his head. “I’m staying. I’m a Fox now too.” 

Kevin gave him a solemn nod then turned and left.

Neil made his way back upstairs but instead of going to the infirmary he turned and made his way towards Andrew’s room. He had been staying there most nights now since the other Foxes were too busy preparing for the attack to notice him missing from the bed in the infirmary.

As he entered the room he saw a tub of hot water had been brought up. Andrew was nowhere to be seen, so Neil took off his dirty sweat soaked clothes and lowered himself in. The water felt wonderful on his sore muscles. He tilted his head back against the edge and let his eyes droop closed.

Sometime later he was startled awake by the sound of the door opening. Andrew stepped in and immediately jerked to a halt when he saw Neil sitting in the tub. Their eyes held for a second before Andrew’s dropped down. From the angle he probably couldn’t see everything, but he could definitely see enough. Neil felt his cheeks heat, and he sunk further into the water.

His movement broke Andrew out of his staring and he quickly averted his eyes. He walked to his bed and sat down facing the wall. “I had that delivered for me.”

“I hope you don’t mind that I’m using it.”

Andrew didn’t say anything as he pulled his leather armbands off from under the long sleeves of his tunic, then began to unlace his boots. Neil knew he wouldn’t look at him again without permission, but his initial embarrassment of being walked in on naked had faded. It had been replaced by a different kind of heat, and now he wanted Andrew’s eyes back on him.

Though they spent most nights in bed together, Andrew and he hadn’t progressed beyond kissing. Sometimes while they kissed Andrew’s hands wandered over his body leaving burning trails along Neil’s skin always leaving him craving more.

Neil knew there was more, much more, they could be doing together, and now seemed as good as a time as any. He would be willing to try anything with Andrew, as long as Andrew wanted that also.

“The water is still warm,” Neil said. It sounded like a casual observation, but he knew Andrew would hear the invitation in his voice.

Andrew’s head jerked around and his eyes locked with Neil’s. They stared at each other for several seconds until Andrew finally stood from the bed and walked over to the edge of the tub. Without breaking their eye contact he asked Neil, “Yes or No?”

Neil didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

Andrew pulled his tunic over his head and dropped it to the floor. He then stepped into the tub with his under layer of linens still on, and Neil couldn’t help but playfully ask, “Are you washing you and your clothes?”

Andrew ignored him as he sunk down and got comfortable. Once he was settled he sent Neil a heated gaze and asked again, “Yes or No?”

Neil wasn’t exactly sure what Andrew was asking this time, but whatever it was a resounding, “Yes”.

Andrew's eyes dropped down to his chest at the same time he reached up and placed his hands there. He trailed his fingers up and down his scars until Neil was sure Andrew had to have each of them memorized. Every touch sent heat curling through his body.

Once Andrew was satisfied he dipped his hands lower in the water letting his fingers brush down the taut muscles of his abdomen. Neil’s body twitched in response, causing Andrew’s eyes to flick back up to meet his. When Andrew saw that he didn’t want to stop he dropped one hand lower still till it came to rest on his hip. With the other he grabbed the back of his neck, and pulled Neil in.

This kiss wasn’t desperate like their first had been, and it wasn’t frenzied like many of the ones they had shared since. Still it lingered heavy on his lips. Neil thought he would be fine with kissing Andrew like this forever.

As Andrew deepened the kiss he dipped his hand down again. Brushing his fingertips down along the sensitive skin on the inside of Neil’s thigh, then back up without pause. Neil was forced to break the kiss as Andrew wrapped his hand around him and slowly stroked him up and down. Neil gasped out for air, but Andrew didn’t stop. He took Neil faster and faster until he was a gasping panting mess in his hands.

Afterwards he sat, eyes closed, leaned forward with his cheek pressed against Andrew’s. They stayed like that until Neil felt like he could breathe again, then he tilted his head and pressed a kiss to Andrew’s lips. Andrew kissed him back briefly before shooing him out of the tub so that he could peel himself out of his wet clothes and change into dry ones.

Neil laid down on the bed and closed his eyes, knowing that Andrew hadn’t given him permission to look. He didn’t open them again till something soft hit him in the face. He looked up to find Andrew had thrown a pair of extra clothes at him and was now getting into bed also. Neil rolled out of bed, pulled the clothes on, then laid back down facing Andrew.

Andrew only withstood the staring for a couple of seconds before putting his hand to Neil’s face and turning it away. “Don’t look at me like that.”

Neil smiled against Andrew’s palm, then feeling a bit more daring planted a kiss on it. Andrew yanked his hand back and sent him a glare.

Neil just continued smiling at him. Andrew chose to ignore him. He closed his eyes and said, “Go to sleep Neil.”

Neil watched him for a few more seconds before finally closing his eyes also. “Goodnight Andrew.”

A war was coming to them, but Neil’s mind was blissfully silent that night as he slept.

-

Allison couldn’t sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she saw the impending potential deaths of her fellow knights. Her family. She didn’t understand how any of the other Foxes could sleep knowing they would soon be at war.

It was the reason why she currently found herself sitting alone in the Great Hall waiting for everyone else to arrive for breakfast. Usually she was one of the last to show up, but since she had already been up for hours this morning she decided to come down early. Sitting here listening to the kitchen staff bustling away was better than laying alone in her bed with nothing but her anxious thoughts.

Last night she tried talking to Seth about her parents and the Wesninskis, but that conversation had quickly gone downhill. Sometimes she forgot how jaded and cynical his thoughts could be. He had been so pessimistic about everything that she had eventually kicked him out. Today she wasn’t looking forward to dealing with his stony silence, especially since they had watch duty together later.

Footsteps approaching brought her out of her thoughts and she looked up to find Matt and Dan taking a seat across from her. Matt looked tired, but Dan looked ready to take on the world just as she always did. There was a noticeable lack of one auburn-haired knight from their side. “No Neil again?”

Matt shook his head as Dan said, “No. That’s the fourth time this week he hasn’t been in the infirmary.”

“What could he possibly be doing so early in the morning every day?” Matt asked no one in particular.

“Why would you assume he is waking up early?” Allison asked him in return.

Matt sent her a look that screamed isn’t it obvious as he said, “Because he isn’t in bed when we go to get him in the mornings.”

Allison tsked at his naivety. “Neil not being in his bed doesn’t necessarily mean he is awake already.”

Matt and Dan both gave her a searching look before Dan asked, “What are you implying Allison?”

“I’m implying that Neil is sleeping in someone else’s bed.”

“No,” Dan said shaking her head and slashing her hand down. “No way. We would know if Neil was sleeping with one of the foxes.”

“Really?” Allison leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “Would you know if he was sleeping with one short blond ball of hate?”

Dan’s face contorted in confusion, but Matt nearly jumped out of his chair when he realized who she meant. “You think he’s sleeping with Andrew?”

“No way in hell.” Dan shook her head fiercely. “That’s insane.”

Allison stared her down. “Is it though? I mean it makes sense if you just think about it.”

Allison had done more than just think about it. She had been watching the two of them interact since they arrived and Neil’s first and only concern had been where Andrew was. Honestly, she hadn’t seen any telling signs between the two of them. Neil was reserved and Andrew hardly treated Neil any differently than he did any of the other Foxes, but there was something there. She could feel it.

Allison flicked her gaze between them. Matt seemed as if he was considering it, but Dan looked wholly unconvinced. She felt a devious grin pull at the corners of her mouth, and could practically taste her future winnings as she said, “If you don’t agree with me then lets bet on it.”

Dan held her gaze firmly. “Fine. I bet Neil and Andrew aren’t sleeping together. Matt?”

Matt looked considering for a few more moments before shrugging. “Sorry babe, but I’m going with Allison on this one.”

Dan turned a disbelieving look on her boyfriend. She looked ready to argue her point with him, but Allison held out her hand towards them and said, “The bets have been placed no changing your minds now.”

Matt quickly grasped her hand and gave it a hearty shake. Dan shook on it also, but in a much more restrained way. The three of them settled into a new topic. All they could do now was wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm leaving for Tokyo tomorrow and really wanted to get this chapter posted before I left. I actually wanted to post it on my birthday last week, but that didn't exactly work out.
> 
> I have a few notes for this chapter-  
> First off the next chapter finally gets back into more of the plot-plot. Which hopefully will be easier and faster to write out. These in-between chapters where Neil is just kinda living his life and interacting with the Foxes have been harder to write, though really necessary. I think it's because I didn't have any kind of outline for them and needed to completely make stuff up. I was actually surprised when this chapter turned out to be about 5300 words.
> 
> I love the line "Kevin, the bastard," because it's #sotrue.
> 
> Also, I love the idea of Neil thinking he is being super sneaky and that nobody would be worried or looking for him. All the while the Foxes are like umm Neil isn't sleeping in his bed anymore and were pretty sure something is up.  
> Which is exactly what happened in the books. Neil was like me and Andrew are sneaking around and nobody knows. Then after Baltimore more than half the Foxes were like yeah that was super obvious.
> 
> Thanks for reading, and leaving so much great feedback on this fic. You guys have made writing this so much fun, and keep me going. <3


	16. Chapter 16

Andrew stood alone waiting at the west castle gate for a shipment of mead to arrive from the tavern. Wymack usually didn’t keep it stocked in the castle claiming that if his knights wanted to drink themselves under the table they could pay for it with their own coin, but they were preparing for a siege and the mead would be much needed. The Foxhole was nearly completely ready to stand against the Wesninski’s attack, though according to their spies the Wesninski’s still hadn’t made a move. Andrew had to assume their waiting was a game meant to wear on the Foxes nerves. Which if it was it was working perfectly, every day the Foxes got more and more anxious. None so more than Neil, who was becoming a tense panicky mess like he had been when Andrew first met him.

Finally the large gate swung open and a horse cart ladened with barrels rolled through. Roland sat up front steering the horses, and when he caught sight of Andrew a large smile stretched over his face. Andrew took a moment to sort through his reactions, or really lack thereof, to seeing Roland for the first time in over three months. He was still handsome, but Andrew no longer felt any pull to act on that attraction as he had before.

After Roland brought the horses to a stop inside the gate he jumped down from the driver’s seat and walked over to Andrew. “I heard you were back safely, but it’s nice to finally see it for myself.” Roland gave him a once over then added, “You look well.”

Andrew felt no need to respond to that. So he didn’t, which only caused Roland to laugh. Then in a conspiratorial voice Roland added, “I also heard you brought a prize back with you.”

“I wouldn’t call him that.”

A smirk curled its way onto Roland’s face, and Andrew realized immediately that he had said too much.

“Maybe I wasn’t talking about the knight, maybe I meant this,” Roland said pointing a finger out at the jewel-encrusted clasp on Andrew’s cloak. The cloak Neil had let him borrow when they fled Wesninski Castle had been torn to tatters by the time they reached the Foxhole, but the clasp with its many precious gems was still worth quite a bit. Andrew had torn it from the old cloak and had Bee sew it onto a new cloak for him. He shouldn’t be surprised that others had noticed him wearing it around.

Andrew didn’t appreciate being played like that by Roland, or that his own treacherous mind had jumped straight to thoughts of Neil. Neil wasn’t a prize he won for surviving his capture by the Wesninskis. Meeting him, escaping, making it safely back home, and then finding out that Neil felt something for him in return was definitely something. Though Andrew wasn’t sure he had the words to describe exactly what it was. Bee would probably call it something like fortuitous circumstance.

When Roland realized he wasn’t going to get a response out of Andrew again he gave him one last teasing smile before turning around to unload the barrels. Andrew walked over to help and they worked in silence till the cart was empty. Once they were done Roland climbed back up, and got the horses moving out. “Guess I won’t be seeing you around much anymore then,” he called over his shoulder as the cart rolled back out through the gates.

Once the gates were securely closed again Andrew headed back into the castle. He had done what Wymack had asked and made sure the mead had been delivered. The barrels were somebody else's problem now, since there was no way he was going to move all of them into storage by himself.

He made his way towards the Great Hall intent on finding Wymack. As he made his way there he noticed that the castle seemed quiet. Usually in the middle of the day he would have passed at least one if not a few of the other Foxes hurrying around, today though there was nobody. He understood why as soon as he stepped through the Great Hall Doors and into utter chaos. 

Every single Fox except for Kevin and Neil, who were out practicing last he checked, were inside, and just like whenever they found out that the Wesninski’s had declared war on them they were all yelling over each other to be heard. Andrew tuned out the noise and made his way over to Renee. Without him needing to ask she explained what was causing the uproar this time. “Allison spotted five riders approaching during her patrol of the East Fields. They are not wearing Weninski or Moriyama colors and were riding under a white flag, so she allowed them entry. They should be arriving soon.”

Andrew turned back towards the other Foxes just in time to hear Dan yell, “Matt go get Kevin and Neil. I want all of us present when our guest arrive.”

Matt took off down the hall as everyone else continued to yell out questions or their guesses as to who it could be. Too soon for Matt to have made it back the main door opened. Four unknown knights entered the room, but Andrew’s eyes were locked on the man standing in the center of them who stormed straight up to Wymack. “I demand you hand over the Knight Andrew Minyard to me.” 

Wymack popped an eyebrow at the man and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “And who exactly are you to be making demands of me?”

“I am Lord Hatford, brother of the late Mary Hatford, who was the mother of Nathaniel Wesninski. As his uncle, I have full rights by our laws to judge and enact punishment on his murderer.”

Wymack stance didn’t change, but Andrew could see fury building in his eyes. “Enact punishment. You sound no better than Nathan.”

Lord Hatford was at least a head shorter than Wymack, but in that moment the fury in his eyes looked as if it could match Wymack’s head on. “Do not compare me to that man.”

“Why should I not? You have clearly accepted his word as the truth without question.”

Lord Hatford looked taken aback for a moment before his fury was back in full force again and he pushed further into Wymack’s space. “You are only trying to protect your knight, but I will not be deterred. Now hand over the Knight Minyard or I will use force.”

“You will stand down in my castle.” Wymack’s angry voice boomed around the Great Hall. “You came here riding under a white flag, and I will not allow you to turn this into a bloodbath.”

“You will not deny me my vengeance,” Lord Hatford said before drawing his sword out causing his four night’s to follow suit.

Lord Wymack stepped back out of the reach of Lord Hatford and his sword, just as Dan stepped forward sword drawn to stand between the two men. She faced Lord Hatford with a determined expression and waited for him to make the first move.

“STOP!”

Andrew’s eyes, along with everyone else’s, shot to the back of the room. He had been too preoccupied to hear them come in but now standing just inside the door was Neil, Kevin, and Matt. Neil was standing slightly ahead of the other two and had been the one to shout. Though now that he had everyone’s attention on him he looked hesitant. Andrew could understand why. If Neil was going to get his uncle to stand down he was going to have to reveal his true identity to him and all the other Foxes as well.

Andrew turned away from Neil and looked back towards Lord Hatford. He had lowered his sword and was now looking at Neil as if he was seeing a ghost. He pushed passed Dan and crossed the room till he was standing directly in front of him. He raised his hands up towards Neil’s face, hesitated for a moment, then dropped them back down. “Nathaniel?”

“Hello, Uncle Stuart.”

The Hatford Knight’s along with some of the Foxes who had caught on quickly to this turn of events released a gasp.

Lord Hatford still looked as though he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “I thought you were dead?”

Neil shook his head. “I’m fine.”

“But your father…”

“Is a liar,” Neil finished for him.

Lord Hatford studied Neil for a moment before nodding his head in agreement. “That he is. For once though I am glad he was lying.” His voice took on a gentler tone as he said, “I lost your mother, I never wanted to lose you as well.” Then he turned to face Wymack. “Forgive my earlier actions. Clearly I let my emotions cloud my judgment.”

Wymack waved a hand through the air. “It’s already forgotten. Now, as our guest here I am offering you a bath and a meal. You look like you all need it.”

Lord Hatford looked down at himself and seemed to just now realize how bedraggled he looked from his long journey. “My knights I’m sure would appreciate that greatly, but I would like to speak with my nephew alone first.”

Wymack sent a questioning look to Neil, and only after he nodded his agreement did Wymack turn back to Lord Hatford. “You can use my office.”

Abby led the other four knights away and Neil gestured for his uncle to follow him. Andrew waited till they had exited the doors then followed them out as well. As soon as the doors closed behind him he heard the Great Hall erupt into noise again, no doubt all of the Foxes had questions about what just happened. Wymack was going to have a hell of a time explaining it.

After walking nearly to Wymack’s office Lord Hatford noticed him trailing behind and turned. “I don’t believe I invited you along.”

“I invited myself.”

Lord Hatford stared him down and Andrew held his menacing gaze.

Neil broke their silent staring contest. “Andrew, I’ll be fine.”

Andrew didn’t really care if Neil thought he would be safe with his uncle or not. Andrew didn’t know or trust Lord Hatford, and he had been through too much already making sure Neil was safe that he wasn’t going to risk it now. So he planted his back on the wall opposite of Wymack’s office, and sent Neil a two-fingered salute. Neil rolled his eyes whenever he realized that Andrew had no intention of leaving the area and disappeared inside with his uncle.

-

As soon as Wymack’s office door closed the air inside turned awkward. His uncle stood close studying his face, looking as if he was debating hugging him or not. Stuart was obviously happy to see him alive and well, but didn’t seem like he had much experience showing those kinds of emotions. Mary hadn’t been the overly affectionate type, and it was clear her brother wasn’t either. 

Finally Stuart walked around behind Wymack’s desk and sat down. “When I heard what happened to Mary after you two tried to escape I wanted to go after you, but it was already too late. Your father had taken you back to his castle and I could do nothing get you out of there.”

“I didn’t expect you to.”

“Of course you didn’t,” Uncle Stuart said voice tinged with sadness. “I doubt you expect much from anybody.”

Neil had to look away from the heavy emotions in his uncle’s eyes. It was true he had learned early on to not expect anything but pain from other people, he was still finding it hard to reconcile his earlier experiences with the way the Foxes treated him. Though that might change now that they knew who he was, but Neil didn’t want to think about that right then.

Thankfully his uncle continued and Neil was spared from his own thoughts. “I am sad that you had to live with Nathan and the rest of them for as long as you did, but I am happy that you are out and safe now. I would offer to take you back with me to my kingdom, but I can see from the look in your eyes that you will not leave these people behind.” 

“My father has declared war on The Foxhole, and I am partly to blame for it. So you’re right, I won’t leave them.” Unless of course they didn’t want him there anymore. Though still even then he wasn’t sure if he would want to live in his mother’s families kingdom.

Stuart nodded his understanding. “Then I have another offer to make you. I only came here with four of my knights, but I left home with the majority of my army. They are now hidden throughout your father’s kingdom, and are waiting on word from me as to what our next move will be.”

Neil wasn’t sure he completely understood what his uncle was trying to say, but he had an idea. “Your army isn’t large enough to take on my father’s.”

“No, it is not,” Stuart agreed. “But I don’t really need them to fight against your father’s whole army.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Your father’s kingdom is not loyal. Hell most of his army isn’t loyal, they are only being controlled by fear. So if we cut off the head, the body will die. Without your father and his inner circle instilling fear and ruling with an iron fist Wesninski Kingdom will fall apart.”

“That doesn’t matter. You can’t get close enough to take them out.”

Stuart leveled his gaze on him. “We already have.”

“What do you mean you already have?”

“My army is dispersed between the three towns closest to your father’s castle, and the woods around it. Plus I have spies working inside his walls. I could attack Wesninski Castle within the fortnight and Nathan would never see it coming.”

Neil shook his head. he couldn’t believe what his uncle was saying.

Stuart leaned forward across the desk and gripped Neil’s arm. “Listen to me, Nathaniel. Your father has been so busy constantly dealing with rebellions and border struggles, that he has left his own castle woefully defenseless. The number of knights he keeps there will not be enough to protect him. Do you understand what I am saying?”

Neil understood the words Stuart was saying, but he still couldn’t believe them. His father was untouchable, his inner circle was untouchable. There was no way they could ever be brought down.

Stuart must have read the disbelief in his eyes. “This can be done Nathaniel. It will be done actually, and I want you to be there with me when it happens.”

This was all becoming too much. Neil ducked his head down and started shaking it continuously back and forth like the motion would dislodge everything he had just heard from his brain. There was no way Stuart could be correct. There was no point in talking about this because the Wesninski Lord always had been and always would be too powerful. It didn’t matter if Stuart’s army was already outside his father’s castle there was no way they could bring it down. No matter how much Neil wished it could be possible. 

“If we do this your Foxhole court will not have to go to war.”

Neil’s head snapped up and he looked straight into his uncle’s eyes. “With your word as proof that your father had Mary murdered I will have cause to attack him. My knights will take Nathan by surprise and the Wesninski Kingdom will fall. But you have to be there with me when it happens.”

Neil let the words sink in. He wasn’t sure if his uncle’s army could really defeat his father or not, but if there was a chance the Foxhole could be spared from war Neil had to take it. He owed them that much. Suddenly his uncertainty from earlier began to morph into steely resolve. He would do whatever he could to protect the Foxes, even if it meant going back to his father’s castle.

“I’ll go with you.” A chasm opened up in the pit of his stomach as soon as the words left his mouth. Nathaniel would be returning home soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all my heart goes out to Paris and everybody in the world as a fire consumes Notre Dame.
> 
> This is the shortest chapter yet, but it involves a lot of plot. As the actual plot continues to unfold like this the chapters may continue to be shorter, because I want them to stand alone.
> 
> I'm thinking of re-working, re-writing the first chapter to make it a little shorter and more concise. What do you guys think???
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and leaving comments and kudos <3


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